Hebron area is major source of Palestinian stabbers, data shows
Few of the 130 attackers in last three months come from refugee camps; average profile is single, male, aged 21
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAvi Issacharoff, The Times of Israel's Middle East analyst, fills the same role for Walla, the leading portal in Israel. He is also a guest commentator on many different radio shows and current affairs programs on television. Until 2012, he was a reporter and commentator on Arab affairs for the Haaretz newspaper. He also lectures on modern Palestinian history at Tel Aviv University, and is currently writing a script for an action-drama series for the Israeli satellite Television "YES." Born in Jerusalem, he graduated cum laude from Ben Gurion University with a B.A. in Middle Eastern studies and then earned his M.A. from Tel Aviv University on the same subject, also cum laude. A fluent Arabic speaker, Avi was the Middle East Affairs correspondent for Israeli Public Radio covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and the Arab countries between the years 2003-2006. Avi directed and edited short documentary films on Israeli television programs dealing with the Middle East. In 2002 he won the "best reporter" award for the "Israel Radio” for his coverage of the second intifada. In 2004, together with Amos Harel, he wrote "The Seventh War - How we won and why we lost the war with the Palestinians." A year later the book won an award from the Institute for Strategic Studies for containing the best research on security affairs in Israel. In 2008, Issacharoff and Harel published their second book, entitled "34 Days - The Story of the Second Lebanon War," which won the same prize.
The West Bank city of Hebron has been a hotbed for Palestinian attackers over the past three months, according to figures released by the Israeli defense establishment on Wednesday.
Of 130 Palestinians who carried out attacks against security personnel and civilians, 28 came from Hebron and 19 from the villages around the city, which lies 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Jerusalem. Thirty hailed from East Jerusalem, and the rest from other areas in the West Bank.
The data did not include the most recent terror attacks, including a car-ramming in Jerusalem on Monday, which was carried out by a resident of Hebron and injured 14 people.
In total, 115 of the attackers were men and 15 women. The overwhelming majority, 110, were single and their average age was 21. Only four were parents.
Fourteen of the assailants came from refugee camps, among them eight from Qalandiya and Shuafat in East Jerusalem. The low number of refugee camps residents taking part in the attacks stands in contrast to their high involvement in violence during the first and second intifadas — Palestinian uprisings during the late 1980s and early 2000s, respectively.
Security officials noted that only a few of those who carried out attacks were affiliated with terror groups and none of them had acted on the direct orders of such groups. Two were members from Hizb ut-Tahrir, an extreme Salafist group.
Since the latest wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence began in September, more than 20 Israelis have been killed in near-daily stabbing, shooting, and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians. More than 100 Palestinians have been killed, most of them assailants shot as they carried out attacks, including some who were teenagers. Other Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli security forces.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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