Israel Targets Palestinian Compensation of Terrorists as Attacks Continue

On July 30^th, 2016, a 17-year old Palestinian terrorist broke into an Israeli house and stabbed a 13-year-old girl to death; the man was ultimately shot and killed by an Israeli security guard. The assailant, Mohammed Tarayreh, reportedly scaled over the wall of the settlement, setting off the alarm. Kiriyat Arba, the town where the killing took place is an Israeli settlement in Zone C of the West Bank. Israeli officials have sealed off the settlement to all but medical workers in the wake of the attack. According to sources, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, the victim, was also an American citizen; there are about 10,000 dual American-Israeli citizens currently residing in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attacks, noting “The horrifying murder of a young girl in her bed underscores the bloodlust and inhumanity of the incitement-driven terrorists that we are facing.” Netanyahu also called for unity among the Israeli people, claiming that “The entire nation deeply identifies with the family’s pain and declares to the murderers: you will not break us.” He further called on the international community to condemn the attack “just as it condemned the terrorist attacks in Orlando and Brussels”.

In response to the attack, the Israeli Prime Minister claimed that he would revoke the work permits of the attacker’s family; Israel would also demolish his house. This policy of home demolition is typical, as Israel hopes that it will deter future terrorists from attacking Israeli citizens.

This is only the latest of many recent attacks against Israelis. The following day, July 1^st, an Israeli driving on a highway just 15 miles south of Kiriyat Arba was shot dead and his family wounded after his car was fired on. The shooter or shooters remain at large.

Several hours earlier a knife-wielding terrorist stabbed two Israelis in the port city of Netanya. Three weeks ago, two Palestinian terrorists opened fire at a market in Tel Aviv, killing four people.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 39 Israelis have been killed and 497 have been wounded since the most recent string of attacks began in mid-September of 2015. During the same time, nearly 200 Palestinians, primarily assailants in terror attacks and some with ties to Hamas, have died in clashes with Israeli security forces.

While the events have been characterized as lone-wolf attacks, this is view can be misleading. Both the terrorist group Hamas and Fatah, the dominant party in the Palestinian Authority, have openly praised the attacks, calling the assailants “the most exalted, noblest of people.”  In addition, the Palestinian Authority’s policy of offering compensation to terrorist prisoners and the families of deceased terrorists represents a form of a support for attacks. This in turn has led Israel to announce a new policy of deducting a comparable amount from payments made to the PA.

The Palestinian Authority remains opposed to opening a new round of talks, and it’s unlikely that the current wave of violence will ebb in the near future. While neither the Palestinian Authority, nor Hamas are prepared to face Israel forces by launching any kind of general conflict, they both seek to encourage the continued low-intensity attacks in the form of “popular resistance.”