2015–2016 wave of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Near Beit El on 10 October 2015
Date 13 September 2015 (2015-September-13) – present 8 years, 10 months and 20 days Location Israel, West Bank and Gaza Strip
Belligerents
Israel IDF Shin Bet Israel Police Magav Israeli citizens Israeli lone wolves	Palestinians Palestinian lone wolves File:Fatah Flag.svg Fatah Hamas PFLP Islamic Movement in Israel
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Netanyahu Gilad Erdan Moshe Ya'alon	File:Fatah Flag.svg Mahmoud Abbas Khaled Mashal Raed Salah
Casualties and losses
22 killed, 283 wounded	138 killed (89 attackers), 3,000+ wounded, 2,400+ detained
2 foreign civilians (1 Eritrea, 1 U.S.) killed, 1 U.S. citizen wounded

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) (known as "The Wave of Terror" by Israelis and also called "Knife Intifada" by international media) refers to a series of events starting from early September 2015, related to tensions between Palestinians and Israelis regarding the status of the Temple Mount. A major escalation occurred at 1 October with the killing of Eitam and Na'ama Henkin, an Israeli couple who were shot by Hamas militants near Beit Furik, followed by daily stabbing assaults by "lone wolf" Palestinians, and other attacks by Palestinian terror cells sparking fears of a Third Intifada.

Commentators have variously analyzed the phenomenon as the consequence of either a viral social-media campaign that may have influenced and motivated the Palestinian attackers, or as a result of frustration over the failure of peace talks to end the decades-long occupation and the suppression of human rights. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been accused of incitement to violence. The mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat encouraged "licensed gun owners to carry their weapons to increase security."

During October, at least 68 Palestinians were killed by Israel military and border police forces, 43 of whom were identified by the IDF as attackers in incidents such as stabbing, vehicular and gun attacks, though the interpretation of some of these incidents as 'terrorist' attacks has been questioned. In the same month, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Israeli operations aimed at suppressing or dispersing demonstrations and protests in many of which stones, rocks and Molotov cocktails are thrown injured an estimated 8,262 Palestinians, 2,617 by gun wounds, 760 by live fire, 1,857 by rubber-coated steel bullets.

On the other hand, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on November 9 that 3,000+ Palestinians have been injured, of them 1248 Palestinians have been shot with live army rounds and 1,808 have been shot with rubber-coated steel bullets; 1,008 of them required hospitalization and 800 received treatment by field medics. As of 1 November 817 violent demonstrations occurred as well as 851 stone throwing and 377 molotov cocktail incidents in which one Israeli was killed.

Background

Further information: Second Intifada; 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict; Silent Intifada; and List of violent incidents in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, January–June 2015

The Second Intifada broke out after a visit by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in September 2000. His appearance, accompanied by several hundreds guards, was seen by Palestinians as highly provocative; Palestinian demonstrators, throwing stones at police, were dispersed by the Israeli army using tear gas and rubber bullets. In less than a week, 47 Palestinians were killed and 1,885 were wounded as Israeli forces used well over a 1,000,000 rounds to quell demonstrations and riots. This uprising, unlike the First Intifada, adopted, among many other measures, the technique of suicide bombings in Israeli buses, restaurants, cafes and shopping malls. Jerusalem was the main target for the bombings. The violence reached a peak in 2002, at which point Israel decided to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier and Israel–Gaza barrier, as well as launch Operation Defensive Shield.

Opinions differ as to the reasons for the cycle of violence. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian opposition to Zionism is grounded in genocidal, Nazi-style anti-Semitism, and he cites the behavior of the father of Palestinian nationalism, Amin al-Husseini, for this thesis. The highest echelons of the Israeli Defense Forces disagree: while not excluding a hatred of Jews as a motivational factor, several generals have gone on public record as stating that to a notable degree Palestinian violence is impelled due to anger at and revenge for Israeli actions and that frustrations over the stagnation of diplomatic initiatives also contribute. A report by Israeli intelligence services states that the unrest is motivated by Palestinian "feelings of national, economic and personal deprivation."

This period has also seen the increasing prevalence of Jewish "price tag" operations, such as the arson attack that killed three members of the Dawabsheh family in the West Bank village of Duma about two months ago. According to The Guardian, many analysts regard the issue of access to what is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount as key to the recent increase in tension. A campaign by some fundamentalist Jews and their supporters, with the backing of some members of the Israeli cabinet, demanding greater rights for Jewish worship at the site has raised the suspicion, despite repeated Israeli denials, that Israel intends to change the 'precarious status quo' at the site.

Events leading to the escalation

On 9 September 2015, Israel outlawed two grassroots Palestinian Islamist groups, "Mourabitoon" and "Mourabitaat" involved in vocal protests at a flashpoint Jerusalem shrine against stepped-up visits by religious Jews. Israeli police enforce exclusively Muslim prayer at the site, a ban some Jewish activists have campaigned to overturn with visits that have increasingly met chants of "Allah is great" and jostling by Mourabitoon and Mourabitaat activists. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who signed the ban, said in a statement that the Mourabitoon and Mourabitaat are a "main cause in the creation of tension and violence on the Temple Mount (al Aqsa compound) specifically and Jerusalem in general". The Palestinian Authority opposed this ban and signaled support for the activists. This ban caused tensions in Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.

On 13 September, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year's Eve, Israeli police raided the plaza outside al-Aqsa mosque in what they said was a bid to head off Palestinian attempts to disrupt visits by Jews and foreign tourists on the eve of the Jewish New Year. Police used tear gas and threw stun grenades toward Palestinian youths who barricaded themselves inside the mosque and hurled rocks and flares, a Reuters witness said. Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, in a statement, said the Palestinian youngsters also had pipe bombs. On the same day, Alexander Levlovich (64) lost control of his vehicle after Palestinian youths threw stones at his vehicle and he struck a pole. He was evacuated to hospital in serious condition, apparently also with a heart attack and died later. Two other passengers were lightly injured.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been accused of incitement to violence by United States' Secretary of State John Kerry. In mid-September 2015, Abbas declared, concerning violent Palestinian youths injured in defending the Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount from what Palestinians have claimed as attempts to alter the status quo: ""Every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem is pure, every shahid [martyr] will reach paradise, and every injured person will be rewarded by God.""

On 24 September the Security Cabinet of Israel approved new laws regarding violent rioters. Netanyahu claimed that "The Security Cabinet unanimously adopted a series of measures within the framework of our fight against stone throwers, petrol bombs and flares". One modified order allows security forces to shoot when the life of a third party is under threat. Until the change, Israeli soldiers facing violent Palestinian protests could open fire with live bullets only if their own life was in danger. The cabinet ordered a minimum four-year jail term for anybody throwing dangerous objects as a temporary measure to be in effect for three years. This did not require Parliament's approval.

On 1 October, five men, part of a Hamas cell in the West Bank, ambushed a civil vehicle in a road between Itamar to Elon Moreh and kill Eitam and Naama Henkin, two settlers from the West Bank. Their four kids who were in the back were left unhurt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was a "result of Palestinian incitement" that led "to an act of terror and murder." He added: "This is a difficult day for Israel." Netanyahu also criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and said he "did not hear a condemnation from the Palestinian Authority," The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military arm, said it welcomes the attack, "which constitutes a worthy response to the crimes of the occupation and the killing of the Dawabsheh family." Later on Thursday night, a 28-year-old woman was lightly wounded by stones hurled toward her at Itzhar Junction. Around the same time, a Palestinian driver was lightly hurt in a similar incident at the entrance to Nablus.

Violence

Further information: List of violent incidents in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, July–December 2015

Since the eve of Rosh Hashanah, 21 Israelis and one Jewish American were killed by Palestinian violence. The IDF have recorded 75 terrorist attacks by Palestinians against Israeli civilians and security forces, 43 of which were in the West Bank, 22 in the Jerusalem municipality, and 11 within the Green Line (excluding Jerusalem), in which 10 Israelis were killed. An Eritrean was shot and lynched after being mistakenly identified as an attacker during the Beersheva bus station shooting and died later. Israeli security forces arrested five members of a Hamas affiliated cell that killed 2 Israeli civilians on 1 October. The number of rocket attacks from the Hamas-led Gaza Strip increased in the same month. In addition, in early October, a 'lone wolf' Palestinian female bomber detonated a bomb in her car after being stopped on a road to Jerusalem, while yelling "Allahu Akbar." The international community considers the use of indiscriminate attacks on civilian populations as illegal under international law.

Palestinian attacks occurred predominantly in Jerusalem/East Jerusalem, but also spread to other cities such as Tel Aviv and Beersheba. These near-daily attacks constituted primarily stone throwing and knife stabbings, hence the name "Knife Intifada" for the wave of attacks. Other attacks included shootings and vehicle rammings. In addition, an attempted suicide bombing on 11 October happened near Jerusalem, injuring a police officer.

Palestinian attacks

To date, there have been 134 Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets: 88 Stabbings, 32 shootings and 14 car ramming attacks were conducted by at least 127 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs. At least a dozen assailants were aged 11–17 years, and a dozen were women aged from 16 to 72 years

Attacks and attempted attacks from 3 October to 27 December.

• 56 in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem 1 October till 9 and from 16 October to 27 December.
• 28 in Jerusalem, from 3 to 16 October, then 1 on 30 and 2 October on November 10, 23 and 29 and from December 3 to 27.
• 26 in Hebron on 7 and 8 October and from 20 October to 27 December.
• 4 near Kiryat Arba October 16 and November 25, December 13.
• 3 in Raanana October 13, December 20.
• 1 in Maale Adumim near 1 October 11.
• 2 in Tel Aviv October 8 and November 19.
• 2 in Afula, 9 October.
• 2 in Kiryat Gat October 8 and November 21.
• 1 in Petah Tikva 7 October.
• 1 near Hadera October 11.
• 1 in Beersheba October 18.
• 1 in Beth Shemesh October 22.
• 1 in Rishon Lezion November 2.
• 1 in Netanya November 2.

Videos os some of the attacks

October 3, Jerusalem old city October 7, Petah Tikva. October 10, Damascus gate, Jerusalem October 10, Ra'anana. 1October 13, Jerusalem October 12, Pisgat Zeev, Jerusalem October 16, Hebron.

November 2, Rishon Lezion November 8, Betar illit. November 10, Jerusalem. November 10, Jerusalem. November 10, East-Jerusalem November 23, Jerusalem. December 6, Jerusalem.

December 23, Jérusalem

Chronology of the attacks

The Palestinians committed many attacks against Israeli civilians, settlers and IDF forces, primarily in the Old City, the Seam Zone and East Jerusalem. The attacks mainly included molotov cocktail and stone-throwings but also vehicle-rammings, stabbings and shootings. The Light Rail in Jerusalem was attacked almost daily attacked by stones, especially next to Shuafat.

• 14 September 2015 – Death of Alexander Levlovich by Palestinian stone-throwing in Jerusalem.
• 17 September – Israeli civilian injured by rock throwing in Jerusalem.
• 21 September – IDF soldier injured by firebomb near Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus.
• 22 September – Attempted stabbing attack on IDF soldier in Hebron. Assailant apprehended on site.
• 1 October – Murder of Eitam and Na'ama Henkin: Eitam and Naama Henkin killed in front of their four children in shooting attack near Nablus. Assailants apprehended.
• 3 October 2015 – Lions' Gate stabbing. A man and others stabbed multiple people in the Jerusalem Old Town, killing 2 and injuring a mother and her toddler. 3 dead (including perpetrator), 2 injured.
• 4 October 2015 – An attack, similar to the Lion's Gate Stabbing on 3 October, took place when an Israeli teenager was stabbed near the Damascus Gate. 1 dead (perpetrator), 1 injured.
• 7 October 2015 – Israeli woman injured and pulled out of her car in a rock-throwing incident and attempted lynching near Jerusalem.
• 7 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack in Old City of Jerusalem. Assailant was shot on site.
• 7 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack in Kiryat Gat in which assailant stole the soldier’s weapon and was shot on site in a civilian’s apartment.
• 7 October 2015 – A Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man, after which the man shot the assailant with his personal gun. 2 injured (including perpetrator).
• 7 October 2015 – A Palestinian stabbed an IDF soldier, after which he was shot dead by special forces. 1 dead (perpetrator), 1 injured.
• 8 October 2015 – Four Israeli civilians and an IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack with screwdriver in central Tel Aviv. Assailant shot on site by an officer in the Israel Air Force.
• 8 October 2015 – Israeli man, 25, seriously hurt in Jerusalem stabbing attack. The attacker was identified as 19-year-old East Jerusalem resident.
• 8 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack in Kiryat Arba. Assailant shot on site.
• 8 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack in Afula. Assailant shot on site.
• 9 October 2015 – Four Israeli civilians injured in stabbing attack in Dimona. Assailant apprehended on site.
• 9 October 2015 – Teenage Israeli boy stabbed in Jerusalem. 1 injured.
• 9 October 2015 - Israeli police officer injured in stabbing attack in Kiryat Arba. Assailant shot on site.
• 10 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured by gunshot in Kiryat Arba.
• 10 October 2015 – Israeli civilian lightly injured after rocks thrown at bus in Jerusalem.
• 10 October 2015 – Israeli civilian lightly injured from rock attack on Route 60 to Jerusalem.
• 10 October 2015 – Two Israelis injured in stabbing attack in Jerusalem. Assailant shot by the police. 1 dead (perpetrator), 2 injured.
• 10 October 2015 – Three Israeli police officers injured in stabbing attack in Jerusalem.
• 11 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured by rock throwing in East Jerusalem.
• 11 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured by rock throwing near Hebron.
• 11 October 2015 – Police officer injured by detonation of gas canister by female Palestinian driver near Ma’ale Adumim. Assailant apprehended on site.
• 11 October 2015 – Three Israeli civilians and an IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack in Gan Shmuel near Hadera. Assailant rammed his car into a soldier before getting out and going on a stabbing spree. Assailant shot on site.
• 12 October 2015 – Female assailant shot after stabbing a border police officer. 2 injured.
• 12 October 2015 – Two Palestinian youths stabbed 2 Israelis in Pisgat Ze'ev. A 13 year old was seriously injured. While trying to escape, one of the assailants, Ahmed Manasrah aged 13, was lightly wounded, the other shot and killed. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas two days later accused Israel of the "execution of our children in cold blood, as they did with the boy Ahmed Manasrah and other children in Jerusalem and other places." 3 injured, 1 dead.
• 12 October 2015 – Palestinian man stabbed an IDF soldier on a bus after which he was shot dead by police. 1 dead (perpetrator), 1 injured.
• 13 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured by rock throwing near Hebron.
• 13 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack in Ra’anana. Assailant apprehended on site.
• 13 October 2015 – In shooting and stabbing attack on a bus in Jerusalem, 3 Israelis were killed and 16 others were wounded. The two assailants were shot dead.
• 13 October 2015 – Minutes after the bus attack, a man drove his car into a bus stop, killing a rabbi and injuring 2 others before being shot and killed. 2 dead, 2 injured.
• 13 October 2015 – In a second stabbing attack in Ra'anana, 4 Israeli were injured.
• 14 October 2015 – Assailant shot dead after attempting to stab police officer near Damascus Gate, Jerusalem.
• 14 October 2015 – Assailant shot after stabbing a woman at Jerusalem Central Bus Station. 1 dead (perpetrator), 1 injured.
• 16 October 2015 – Joseph’s Tomb set on fire by Palestinian arsonists. Palestinian forces extinguished fire.
• 16 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack by assailant disguised as news photographer in Kiryat Arba. Assailant shot on site.
• 17 October 2015 – Israeli Border Policewoman injured in stabbing attack at Cave of Patriarchs in Hebron. Assailant shot on site.
• 17 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack in Hebron. Assailant shot on site.
• 17 October 2015 – Israeli Border Policeman stabbed at Kalandia Crossing. Assailant shot on site.
• 18 October 2015 – IDF soldier Sgt. Omri Levy z”l killed, four other soldiers and seven Israeli civilians injured in combined shooting and stabbing attack in Be’er Sheva Central Bus Station. Assailant shot on site.
• 20 October 2015 – IDF officer injured in stabbing attack during violent riot near Hebron. Assailant shot on site.
• 20 October 2015 – IDF soldier and Israeli civilian injured in car ramming attack at Gush Etzion Junction. Assailant then attempted to stab the wounded victims but was shot on site.
• 20 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack in Hebron. Two assailants shot on site.
• 21 October 2015 – Five IDF soldiers injured in car ramming attack near Bethlehem. Assailant shot on site.
• 21 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack near Jerusalem. Assailant shot on site.
• 22 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack in Beit Shemesh. Assailant shot on site.
• 23 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack near Gush Etzion. Assailant shot on site.
• 23 October 2015 – Mother and her 2 children injured from Molotov cocktail hurled at vehicle near Jerusalem.
• 25 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack after exiting his car following rock attack.
• 25 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack at Ariel Junction. Assailant apprehended.
• 26 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack near Hebron. Assailant shot on site.
• 27 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack at Gush Etzion Junction. Assailant shot on site.
• 28 October 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack outside supermarket in Gush Etzion. Assailant detained on site.
• 29 October 2015 – IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack near the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Assailant shot on site.
• 29 October 2015 – Passing vehicle opened fire towards a bus stop near Jerusalem. IDF forces fired towards vehicle.
• 30 October 2015 – 2 Israeli civilians injured in stabbing attack in Jerusalem. Assailant shot on site.
• 1 November 2015 – 3 Israelis injured in car ramming attack in Hebron.
• 2 November 2015 – 3 Israelis injured in stabbing attack near Rishon Lezion Central Bus Station. Attacker apprehended.
• 2 November 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack in Netanya. Assailant shot on site.
• 4 November 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in car ramming attack near Hebron.
• 6 November 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in stabbing attack outside supermarket in Sha’ar Binyamin.
• 6 November 2015 – 2 Israeli civilians injured in shooting attack while visiting Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
• 6 November 2015 – Israeli soldier severely injured in shooting attack near Hebron. Assailant apprehended.
• 8 November 2015 – 3 Israelis injured in car ramming at Tapuah Junction. Assailant shot on site.
• 8 November 2015 – Israeli injured in stabbing attack near Jerusalem. Assailant shot on site.
• 8 November 2015 – Israeli injured in stabbing attack near Alfei Menashe.
• 10 November 2015 – Israeli injured in stabbing attack on Jerusalem Light Rail. Two assailants apprehended.
• 13 November 2015 – 2 Israeli civilians killed & 1 wounded in shooting attack near Hebron.
• 17 November 2015 – Shots fired at IDF patrol near Ramallah. 1 assailant shot on site, 2 others apprehended.
• 19 November 2015 – 2 Israelis killed and 1 injured in stabbing attack in Tel Aviv. Assailant apprehended.
• 19 November 2015 – Palestinian assailant opened fire and rammed his vehicle against Israelis at Gush Etzion Junction, killing 3 people, including a U.S. citizen. Assailant apprehended.
• 21 November 2015 – 4 Israelis injured in a stabbing attack in Kiryat Gat. Assailant apprehended.
• 22 November 2015 – Israeli civilian killed in stabbing attack at Gush Etzion Junction. Assailant on site.
• 23 November 2015 – 70-year-old man and 27-year-old man injured in stabbing attack in Central Jerusalem. 2 assailants shot on site.
• 23 November 2015 – Israeli civilian injured in car ramming attack near Nablus.
• 23 November 2015 – IDF soldier killed and IDF officer injured in stabbing attack at gas station on Route 443 near Modiin.
• 24 November 2015 – 4 Israeli security personnel injured in car ramming at Tapuah Junction. Assailant shot and apprehended.
• 25 November 2015 – IDF soldier severely wounded in stabbing attack near Hebron. Assailant shot and arrested.
• 27 November 2015 – 2 soldiers injured in car ramming attack at bus station near Jerusalem. Assailant shot before causing further damage.
• 28 November 2015 – 6 soldiers injured in car ramming attack near Hebron. Assailant shot.
• 29 November 2015 – Border Policeman injured in stabbing attack near Old City of Jerusalem. Assailant shot and killed.
• 29 November 2015 – Woman injured in stabbing attack at bus stop in Jerusalem.
• 3 December 2015 – Soldier and pedestrian wounded after gunman opened fire at checkpoint near Jerusalem. Assailant shot.
• 3 December 2015 – Police officer stabbed near Old City of Jerusalem. Assailant shot.
• 3 December 2015 – Attacker opened fire at Israeli vehicle near Ramallah.
• 4 December 2015 – Two assailants stabbed and wounded soldier in Hebron. Assailants shot.
• 4 December 2015 – Attacker stabbed soldier during security check near Ramallah. Assailant shot.
• 4 December 2015 – 2 soldiers injured in car ramming attack near Ramallah. Attacker shot.
• 6 December 2015 – 21-year-old assailant rammed his vehicle into 2 pedestrians and proceeded to leave car and stab a police officer in Jerusalem. Assailant shot.
• 7 December 2015 – Israeli civilian severely wounded in stabbing attack in Hebron. Assailant shot on sight.
• 9 December 2015 – Two Israeli civilians injured in stabbing.

UN OCHA map of East Jerusalem showing movement restrictions by Israel in October 2015

Jewish attacks

• 9 October, a teen with psychiatric history in Dimona stabbed a Bedouin citizen of Israel and three Palestinian workers and injured them.
• 13 October in Kiryat Ata a Jewish man was stabbed several times by another Jew who had mistaken him for an Arab. Upon trying to then flee the scene, the man was shot at by a security guard and was eventually arrested for questioning. The shot grazed a passer-by.

Events described as a potential Third Intifada

In 2008, Al Jazeera reported that Hamas leadership had called for a Third Intifada, but analysts have observed that these calls never came to fruition. Some commentators have suggested that the Silent Intifada, a term used to describe a period of increased violence during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, was in fact a Third Intifada. Other sources have identified a period of renewed violence in September and October 2015 as a potential Third Intifada, but the Palestinian leadership has refrained from calling these events a Third Intifada. Nohad Ali, a sociologist from the University of Haifa, also suggested that the events in October 2015 were not a Third Intifada. Other commentators also note that the 2015 events are different from previous Intifadas because the uprising lacks both an organizational framework under an acknowledged political leadership and a clear set of goals. It has also been noted that the events of the first two weeks in October were mainly restricted to Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, and did not reflect general participation from the West Bank as in earlier Intifadas.

Incitement

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously called on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel. Eliot Engel said that "This wave of violence isn’t some random flare-up. It’s the product of years and years of anti-Israel propaganda and indoctrination — some of which has been actively promoted by Palestinian Authority officials and institutions."

Misleading

On 14 October Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian media claimed that 13-year-old Ahmed Manasra, who was documented committing an attack in Pisgat Ze'ev this week, had been "executed" by Israel, but Dr. Asher Salmon, the deputy director of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, said Thursday that the boy was alive and was in light-to-moderate condition. Photos of Manasra from the hospital were released to support those statements. In an English translation of Abbas' speech released by the PLO, however, the Palestinian President was quoted as saying Israel "shoots" Palestinian children in cold blood "as they did with the child Ahmed Manasra," replacing the word "executions" with more moderate language. Actually, while Manasra's cousin Hassan was shot to death, Ahmed was not shot - he was hit by an Israeli vehicle, suffering a serious head injury.

Glorification of attacks

On 6 October, Sultan Abu Al-Einein, Mahmoud Abbas' adviser, explicitly glorified the attacks on his Facebook page. He called the Lions' Gate stabbings which left two dead and two wounded including a two-year-old child, a "heroic operation". He also posted a picture of the stabber, and "saluting" those "protecting Jerusalem" he wrote: "Kiss their foreheads, and do not forget their hands".

On 17 October, Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Palestinian Authority ruling party Fatah said in an interview that "These are clearly individual operations, but they require heroism, courage, and a value system, which forces the Palestinian elite and the Palestinian national forces to see in the final words of one of those heroes, written in a blog, a document that could be taught in schools in a lesson about the meaning of martyrdom..."

Responses

Politicians and government officials

Palestinian

Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said of the cycle of violence and retaliation that the situation was "extremely dangerous" and accused "extremists on the Israeli side" of seeking to "impose a Jewish presence" at the Temple Mount. He warned that such attempts would cause a religious confrontation that would have "ramifications in all corners of the Middle East and beyond. Religious confrontation is what ISIS is dreaming of."

Israel

After a death on the night of Rosh Hashanah in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting to decide on new legislation for minimum sentences for stone throwers, heavy fines on parents whose children threw stones and the use of multiple sniper fire Ruger 10/22 against rioters throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. A pay increase for border police throughout Jerusalem and the calling up reserve forces of police and Border Guard forces was also enacted by the security cabinet. Netanyahu later accused Arabs, especially the Palestinian Authority and the Islamic Movement in Israel of inciting and fanning flames, while prohibiting all Members of Knesset (MK's) from going to the Temple Mount, although some Jewish and Arab Joint List MK's said they would ignore the rulings.

On 30 July, the Knesset had approved an amendment to the Prisons Ordinance allowing the force-feeding of an inmate when a doctor determines that there is a real danger to the life of the prisoner.

The mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat encouraged "licensed gun owners to carry their weapons to increase security" and compared it to "military reserve duty." Later the mayors office commented that "Many terror attacks in Jerusalem have been prevented or neutralized due to the quick actions and response of responsible bystanders", and Netanyahu said that "Civilians are at the forefront of the war against terrorism and must also be on maximum alert".

Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat's advocacy for licensed gun owners to carry firearms for security reasons was read as a "declaration of war" on all the city's Palestinian residents by the Palestinian official for Jerusalem, Adnan Husseini.

Security forces

Following the escalation of violence in Tishrei, Israeli police and border guards were deployed around the country and especially in the Jerusalem area.

On 20 October, Israeli troops rearrested Hassan Yousef, a senior Hamas figure in the West Bank, accusing him of "fermenting violence and conflict against Israel among the Palestinian public."

International

States

France – France called for the placing of international observers to the Temple Mount in October 2015 in order to preserve the status quo. Israel however rejected it, saying that that action would violate the said status quo.

Germany – Angela Merkel met with Benjamin Netanyahu on 21 October to discuss the wave of violence. She said that Germany expects Mahmoud Abbas "to condemn everything that constitutes an act of terror. One can’t have open talks with Israel if this does not happen." She also said that "young Palestinians need a perspective and unilateral steps are not helpful".

Jordan – After talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, King Abdullah II warned Israel, on 9 September, that "any more provocation in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel. Jordan will not have a choice but to take actions, unfortunately."

United States – State Department spokesman John Kirby, on 9 September, condemned "all acts of violence" at the Temple Mount – and called on Israel not to lift restrictions for Jewish visitors. "The United States is deeply concerned by the recent violence and escalating tensions surrounding the Haram al-Sharif Temple Mount. We strongly condemn all acts of violence. It is absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric and preserve unchanged the historic status quo on the Haram al-Sharif Temple Mount, in word and in practice." He added that all sides should "exercise restraint."

United Nations – The UN condemned the attacks in Israel and called on both sides to restore calm. In addition, Ban Ki-Moon made a surprise visit to Israel.

Others

Pro–Israel rally in Paris, 18 October 2015

In a joint statement with the Israeli NGO B'tselem, Amnesty International stated that in some instances Israeli forces have engaged in extrajudicial killings, which Israeli politicians are accused of openly endorsing as a response to Palestinians merely suspected by police of terrorist intentions of unarmed civilians. Prime Minister Netanyahu made a point of saying when the US killed the San Bernardino shooters, nobody said they were extrajudicial killings. He then explained how Israel is unfairly criticized. Human Rights Watch, raising the possibility that Israel may be engaged in violations of international law, has expressed concern over what it calls Israel's "indiscriminate and even deliberate" shooting of protesters.

See also

• 2015 in Israel
• Palestinian political violence
• Racism in Israel
• Racism in Palestine
• Settler violence
• Silent Intifada
• Temple Mount entry restrictions

External links

• Wave of terror 2015. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Israeli-Palestinian violence: What you need to know. CNN
• Is Palestinian-Israeli violence being driven by social media?. BBC