Jerusalem security stepped up; guards at kindergartens, police install checkpoints
Local residents express lack of sense of security in wake of terror attack at city synagogue; police to expand civli guard, boost patrols.
A group of parents arrived at one of the kindergartens, which operates from a community center, for a meeting with school staff. They expressed concern about the presence of Arab employees who work closely with the school. They said that the issue may have a solution and guards were placed at the site.
Moriah Peled, who accompanied her daughter to the kindergarten told Ynet: "I'm not calm, I'm terrified. There are workers here who could do whatever they want to our children. Everything is wide open. They told us that they are taking care of it, but what will be in the meantime?"
There were parents who thought otherwise, however, including Eden Leshem, whose daughter attends the kindergarten next door. "We cannot succumb to this madness," she said. "The Arabs live and work here. They are part of the city."
Even so, in the wake of Tuesday's attack, police have stepped up security at educational institutions in the city and increased patrols. The new directives stipulate that every school has to have a security guard, but the main problem is that preschools are the responsibility of local authorities, and many of them have no security.
Since then, there have been situation assessments attended by security officials in order to determine the most sensitive areas, where security guards will be stationed. At the same time, a plan to place guards at kindergartens on a permanent basis was also discussed, as well as ways to tighten security procedures, such as keeping the doors locked. Furthermore, Israel Police Commander Yohanan Danino, Jerusalem District Police chief Moshe Edri and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat have decided on an extensive recruitment campaign to expand the Civil Guard.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday visited the new operations room for the observation unit at the Jerusalem municipality, which runs observation balloons scattered throughout the city and covers real-time disturbances.
"Spare no effort here," Netanyahu said. "This morning we destroyed the home of a terrorist. It was a significant and important step, and there will be more house demolitions. There will be many more steps."
I'm afraid they will stab me
There was a heightened police presence Wednesday in the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood, located next to the East Jerusalem village of Jabel Mukaber, from where the terrorists set out to carry out Tuesday's attack. Police and Border Police had set up checkpoints at the entrances to the roads that separate the village from the neighborhood.
Since the murder of teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir in early July, residents of the neighborhood, which runs next to the seam line, have had stones and Molotov cocktails thrown at them, and their sense of security has been shaken dramatically.
Dalia Ben-Sheetrit, 53, a resident and owner of a local salon said, "What is happening here is not easy and it is very frightening. I look around me when I drive on some of the roads. I don’t walk on foot at all since they murdered that boy. I'm afraid that someone will stab me." Such attacks have happened in the area in the past she added.
"The situation is complex," Ben-Sheetrit continued. "I have Arab friends, even people who live in my building, and we act like a family. I want the peace and coexistence to return. The police and Border Police are active here but it does not restore our sense of security. People in Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem residents who live in neighborhoods that are not along seam line do not understand."
Local residents waiting for a bus no longer stand at the stops, preferring to wait in backyards to avoid stones being thrown at them.
"The residents of Jabel Mukaber do what they want," says Aviram Hefetz, 29. "The stones, fireworks and petrol bombs have become routine and the police don't solve the problem. People here are just afraid."
Hanan, 40, a resident of Jabel Mukaber and mother of three who works in Armon HaNatziv, tried to explain the source of tension in the village.
"People in the village are furious because they killed Mohammed Abu Khdeir and mainly because of what the Jews are doing at Al-Aqsa," she said. "I want to live quietly and peacefully but also the police give us do a difficult life, coming into the village at two in the morning, and our children are afraid."
