Terrorist attacks doubled in Jerusalem in September, Israel says
Published October 21, 2016
(JTA) — Terrorist attacks in Jerusalem doubled last month compared to August.
Whereas the number of attacks perpetrated against Israelis in the West Bank remained almost unchanged – 78 incidents last month compared to 78 in August – the number of attacks in Jerusalem rose by 100 percent, from 13 attacks in August to 26 incidents in September, the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, wrote in their monthly report for September, published this week.
The increase in Jerusalem helped bump up the total number of attacks perpetrated against Israelis in September to 109, a figure that constitutes a 17-percent increase over the 93 attacks recorded in August. That number was the lowest monthly tally recorded since March 2015 and the first dip since then below the 100-incident mark.
Ten Israelis were wounded in the attacks recorded in September comparted to seven in August. September saw no Israeli fatalities from attacks.
More than half of the attacks in September involved the hurling of firebombs.
Despite The increase in attacks in Jerusalem, the September tally is still 47-percent lower than the average number of attacks carried out in Israel’s capital per month since September 2015.
In Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, attacks increased in August 2015, when 171 were documented, and rose sharply in September and October of that year, with 223 and 620 recorded attacks, respectively. The number of attacks decreased to 326 in November, 246 in December, 169 in January, 155 in February and 123 in March.
During that period, October 2015 ended with 117 attacks recorded in Jerusalem, the highest number in years. But the attacks halved the following month and have remained since below the 50-incident mark.
According to the Maan news agency, a total of 274 individuals died during the wave of unrest, from Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30 of this year, including 235 Palestinians, many of whom were killed while perpetrating attacks. During that period, attacks caused the death of 34 Israelis and five foreign nationals — two Americans, one Eritrean, one Sudanese, and one Jordanian.
On Thursday, Israeli troops in the West Bank shot dead a Palestinian teenager who hurled rocks at a patrol, the Israel Defense Forces said. The incident occurred in the Beit Ummar area near the city of Hebron. The Palestinian health ministry named the slain Palestinian as 15-year-old Khaled Bahar.
Earlier that day, a Palestinian man died from injuries he sustained in 2007 in clashes with Israeli troops, the Maan news agency reported.
The Makassed hospital announced the death of Mahmoud Jawda, who had been treated at the Jerusalem medical center ever since he was shot multiple times by Israeli troops in Ramallah.
