Violence in Israel was low before end-of-year rise

In 2014, there were 221 attacks in Israel and 55 non-militant fatalities compared to 109 attacks and 19 fatalities in 2015.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON
Israeli soldiers secure the area after a stabbing attack by two Palestinian teenage girls took place in central Jerusalem on November 23 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli soldiers secure the area after a stabbing attack by two Palestinian teenage girls took place in central Jerusalem on November 23
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Non-state violence in 2015 was relatively low in Israel until the spike in attacks that began in October, the head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center, Matthew Henman, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
“Much of the violence over the first three quarters of the year was comparatively low tempo, characterized by sporadic rocket attacks from Gaza and the Golan, as well as periodic violent political unrest in Jerusalem and cyclical retaliatory violence between Palestinian and Israeli extremists,” said Henman.
However, Henman noted the massive increase in attacks in October as tensions in Jerusalem mounted. He said the violence was typified by knife attacks or vehicle impact attacks and was largely by non-affiliated individuals.
“Combined with an intensifying security response, the level of violence continued to build over the month, with October alone accounting for more than a quarter of all attacks in Israel in 2015 and more than a third of all non-militant fatalities.”
Henman continued, “While such operations continued through November and December, it was with a far lower frequency.”
In 2014, there were 221 attacks in Israel and 55 non-militant fatalities compared to 109 attacks and 19 fatalities in 2015, according to the 2015 IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center Global Attack Index based on open source data.