Israelis say sense of security lost as near-daily attacks persist

After three months of near-daily shooting, stabbing and car-ramming attacks, more than half of Israelis say they have lost their sense of security on the streets, a new poll for the Walla website has found.

According to the survey, conducted under the auspices of veteran Israeli statistician Camil Fuchs, 61 percent of Israelis feel that their level of security has been harmed or very harmed since the start of the current wave of violence. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said that their sense of security had not greatly been affected, while 9% said that it had not been affected at all.

Asked about the political echelon’s response to the wave of terror attacks, 71% said that the government was not dealing with the attacks in a satisfactory manner, while just 19% said that the government was handling the situation well.

Regarding Jewish terrorism, 58% said that they saw no difference between Jewish and Palestinian extremism, and that both should be dealt with using the same measures; one-third of respondents said they should be dealt with differently.

Israel is on the verge of indicting a Jewish terror suspect for the July firebombing of a Palestinian home in the West Bank, which killed three members of one family.

The poll questioned 610 Israelis — 501 Jews and 109 Arabs. The margin of error was not provided.

At least 25 Israelis have been killed since the start of the current wave of violence, mostly in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, most while carrying out attacks or attempted attacks, and others during violent clashes with security forces.

The most recent attack took place on Friday afternoon, as two people were killed and seven others wounded when an assailant opened fire on a busy street in central Tel Aviv, spraying bullets into packed bars with his automatic rifle. The attacker was identified as an Arab from northern Israel.