Israel sending troops into cities after latest attacks

The Israeli military began deploying hundreds of troops in Israeli cities Wednesday to assist police forces in countering a wave of deadly Palestinian shooting and stabbing attacks that have created panic across the country.

 

The military’s deployment of six companies marks the first implementation of measures by Israel’s security cabinet to counter the attacks that have intensified dramatically in recent days. The cabinet met late into the night and announced steps early Wednesday that included allowing police to seal off points of friction or incitement. Many of the recent attackers have come from Arab areas of Jerusalem, prompting calls to seal off those neighborhoods to contain potential attackers.

 

The cabinet also decided to strip residency rights and demolish homes of some attackers and draft hundreds more security guards to secure public transport.

 

The measures came after a particularly bloody day in which a pair of Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks in Jerusalem killed three Israelis and another two attacks took place in the normally quiet Israeli city of Raanana. Three Palestinians, including two attackers, were also killed.

 

The government has thus far been unable to stop the violence, carried out mostly by young Palestinians unaffiliated with known militant groups and apparently acting on their own.

 

Israeli security officials, however, said Tuesday’s seemingly coordinated attacks indicated that the outburst of violence was starting to take on a more organized fashion, from groups behind the planning and those carrying out attacks. The officials, speaking anonymously according to regulations, said Israel expects the current wave to last at least a few more weeks.

 

The attacks have caused panic in Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of heavy violence.

 

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