Israel to crack down on Palestinian illegals after attacks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday ordered a series of measures following three bloody attacks by Palestinians the previous day, including repair work to seal gaps in the security barrier near Jerusalem, harsher punishments for those who help Palestinians illegally enter Israel, and the shutting down of Palestinian media channels that broadcast incitement.

Two of the three Palestinians who carried out the attacks did not have permits to be Israel. The third was an East Jerusalem resident.

Netanyahu called a late-night emergency security meeting at his Jerusalem bureau in the wake of the attacks, which left one person dead — American visitor Taylor Force — and a dozen injured. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, and Israel Police Chief Roni Alsheich attended the meeting, along with representatives from the IDF and the Shin Bet security service.

As an immediate measure, a decision was taken to seal any gaps in the security fence through which Palestinians are able to cross from the West Bank into areas around Jerusalem. In addition, work to finish construction of the security fence in area of Tarkumiya, south of the Hebron Hills, was to be accelerated.

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The meeting also resolved to push legislation to increase punishments for those who help Palestinians enter Israel without permits. In addition, authorities would cancel many existing work and trade permits that have been issued to Palestinians, tens of thousands of whom commute every day from the West Bank to jobs inside Israel.

Palestinian media channels that incite to violence were also to be shut down. According to a Haaretz report, Defense Ministry officials will decide which Palestinian media the measures apply to.

Police assessed that there was no coordination between the attacks and said that the perpetrators acted alone, in line with a spate of recent incidents.

In response to the attacks IDF troops closed off two West Bank villages late Tuesday believed to be the homes of two of the attackers.

The Palestinian villages of Zawiya and Hajjah were sealed off “following a situational assessment and in light of the recent terror attacks,” the IDF said.

Zawiya, located just inside the West Bank near the Israeli city of Rosh Ha’ayin, is the hometown of Abed el-Rahman Mahmoud Radad, the 18-year-old Palestinian who attacked a man in Petah Tikva.

The army also closed off the Palestinian village of Hajjah, located between Nablus and Qalqilya, which appears to be the hometown of 22-year-old Bashar Massalha, who carried out the Jaffa stabbing attack.

In addition, security forces entered the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, the hometown of the assailant who opened fire at police officers outside the Old City.

Following the Tuesday incidents police increased their presence in cities across the country and called on the public to remain alert.

In all, twenty-nine Israelis and four foreign nationals have been killed in a wave of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October. Some 180 Palestinians have also been killed, around two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.