VIDEO - The defense establishment faces yet another conundrum Tuesday, as its forces seem to be unable to thwart terror attacks carried out with the use of vehicles emanating from east Jerusalem.
Security sources said that the only means of deterrence they have at their disposal was razing the terrorists' homes, but that such moves often encounter legal hurdles which postpone them almost indefinitely.
Monday night saw a third attack with the use of a vehicle hit the capital, as Kasem Mugrabi, a 19-year-old resident of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukabar, rammed his BMW into a crowd of pedestrians at a busy intersection in central Jerusalem, injuring 17 people.
Police believe Murgabi's motivation was unrequited love, as it was discovered a recent marriage proposal he made to his cousin was rejected.
His family said the incident was merely an unfortunate accident. One of Mugrabi's relatives said the family has never been associated with any terror organization and comes from a different socio-economic background than the families of past terrorists.
Tuesday saw 13 of the wounded still hospitalized: Seven in the city's Hadassah Mount Scopus and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospitals and six others in the Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak helda security assessment overnight, and discussed the need to use razing as a measure of deterrence: "We need to take legal action in order to drastically expedite the (legal) process, so we can take action shortly after an attack happens and deter any future potential terrorists," he said.
A Security source added that if the military is unable to use razing as an immediate punitive action, it loses its effect: "Waiting for months on end for the go-ahead is unheard of. It sends the exact opposite message to anyone contemplating carrying out an attack.
Scene of Jerusalem attack (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
"We have to find the way to act swiftly, so anyone thinking about an attack would see its potential results and effects on their life."
The IDF seems somewhat frustrated as the success of it efforts to thwart attacks emanating from the West Bank in clouded by its inability to foil attacks originating from east Jerusalem. "We have to change the way in which we deal with such terrorists," another military source told Ynet.
The defense establishment noted that over the past few years there has been an increase in the number of east Jerusalem residents involved in terror attacks, adding that only decisive action in the area – which houses some 290,000 Palestinians – can make a difference.
According to Shin Bet data, 340 east Jerusalem terrorists have been arrested between 2001 and June of 2008.
First published: 09:32, 09.23.8