[Ha'aretz] Nadav Shragai - For years now, Jerusalem has been an optimum target for terror organizations. During the first four years of the second intifada, there were 600 terror attacks in the city (of which 30 were suicide bombings), in which 210 people were murdered and thousands injured. The involvement of Arabs from eastern Jerusalem and surrounding villages in terrorism increased over the years, mainly in accessory roles. They gathered intelligence, selected potential targets for attacks, exploited their familiarity with the city, and guided terrorists to the sites where major attacks were carried out. What greatly reduced the attacks in recent years was Israel's command of intelligence and thwarting capability in the neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem and its surroundings, where hundreds of major terror attacks were prevented thanks to Israeli control.
2008-03-20 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive