Israel says efficient policies result in less Palestinian attacks

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that a six-month-long wave of street attacks by Palestinians against Israelis has started to wane, according to a statement by his office.

Speaking at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu told his ministers that the drop was attributed mostly to the government's actions. The violence has claimed the lives of 28 Israelis, two U.S. nationals, and at least 190 Palestinians, mostly attackers.

An official with Israel's Shin Bet security bureau told the ministers that "in recent months, and especially in recent weeks, there has been a considerable decline in the number of terrorist attacks committed by Palestinians."

In March, there were 20 attacks that resulted in Israeli casualties or serious injuries, compared to 78 in October 2015. Since the beginning of April, there have been three such attacks.

Netanyahu said he was speaking with caution as "the trend could reverse itself," and claimed that the decrease in attacks is the result of the government's "strong, responsible and methodical policy."

The Israeli government have implemented various steps in order to try the wave of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis.

Among others, the Israeli government made it easier for Israelis to carry weapons, demolished homes of the families of attackers and increased penalties for rock-throwing Palestinian youth, carried out small-scale operations in which Palestinians were arrested and radio stations raided.

The effectiveness of these moves, along with others, was questioned by critics, among them Israeli political opponents as well as the Palestinians. Some say the waning of the wave of attacks is also due to the work of the Palestinian security establishment.

The Israeli prime minister said the government will also be discussing a multi-year plan to "strengthen the security of Jerusalem."

Both Israel and the Palestinians see Jerusalem as their capital. Israel annexed East Jerusalem, home to 300,000 Palestinians, shortly after occupying it in the 1967 War, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip territories. The city had since been a site of contention and conflict.

Netanyahu also spoke specifically about law enforcement in the Arab-Israeli sector. Arab-Israelis are Palestinians who remained in Israel amid the 1948 war and became citizens, constituting 20 percent of the population.

Crime rates are considered high in Arab municipalities, which are also the poorest in the country, and Netanyahu said that over the next five years Israel will build new police stations, recruit 2,600 officers and "strengthen police operational capabilities."

In December 2015, the Israeli government approved a groundbreaking five-year economic plan for the Arab sector, who had suffered discrimination in all walks of life over the years, at the cost of 3.9 billion U.S. dollars.

However, Netanyahu conditioned the plan after it was authorized, establishing a committee of right-wing ministers to overlook law enforcement, especially against illegal construction in the Arab sector.

Israel accuses the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the recent wave of violence, while the Palestinians say it is the result of frustration in the wake of 49 years of Israeli occupation of their lands and the dim prospects of establishing a Palestinian state.
Source:Xinhua