Shots were fired at four Israeli vehicles in Route 465, in the Benjamin Regional Council, on Wednesday evening, January 14. Although no injuries or casualties were sustained, the shooting is an uncommon event that could signify the deterioration of the already fragile sense of security, for the residents of Israeli communities in the Benjamin Regional Council.

Tazpit News Agency spoke to Yechiel Kapach, the secretary of the Neve Tzuf (Halamish) community located in the Samaria hills.

“A terror attack that includes shooting is very rare, while stone-throwing terror attacks are much more common. They occur on a daily basis,” Kapach told Tazpit.

“The number of attacks depends on the general political situation in the country. When tension rises we see more terror attacks and when tension goes down we see less.”

Terror attacks include stone-throwing, shooting incidents, firework directed at people and cars as well as usage of Molotov cocktails. Tazpit News Agency reports that during December 2014 there were 27 stone-throwing incidents on the 465 route alone.

The 465 route is used by Israelis and Palestinians alike. It starts in the Benjamin Regional Council and crosses the green-line at the Rantis Checkpoint. Kapach told Tazpit News Agency that “the second you cross the Rantis Check point, it’s the wild wild west.”

“There is a real problem of sovereignty and enforcement of the Israeli law. We feel the lack of sovereignty in civil issues such as driving or illegal building for example, and it projects onto security issues,” he pointed out.

Kapach also added that Neve-Tzuf’s inhabitants felt so disappointed by the IDF’s inability to control security related incidents, that they started their own civil guard.

“I hope Israel can strengthen its sovereignty and enforce Israeli law so that real security will prevail.”

Likud MK Yariv Levin is proposing an 8-point plan to combat Arab terrorism in Israel, according to a Yediot Achronot report.

The plan takes the form of “temporary legislation”, presumably for the duration of this current security crisis.

The proposal was put together at the behest of PM Netanyahu, who asked for proposals to help fight this current wave of Arab terrorism and restore Israeli deterrence.

The plan includes the following measures:

1) Citizenship: Israeli-Arabs engaged in terror or cooperating with terror attacks will lose their Israeli citizenship. And if they are Palestinian Authority Arabs, then their residency status.

2) Deportation: Following completion of their prison sentences, Arab terrorists will be deported out of Israel.

3) Funerals: Terrorists will not have funerals.

4) Unmarked graves: Terrorists bodies will be buried in locations unknown to the family.

5) Home demolitions: The homes of the terrorists will be destroyed within 24 hours.

6) Masked rioters: Masked rioters throwing stones, shooting fireworks, and those participating in those riots will be arrested and held in jail until legal proceedings against them are completed. That includes anyone waving an enemy flag (“Palestinian” flag) during riots. Anyone convicted will lose their National Insurance benefits and driver’s license for ten years.

7) Family: Family members who express support for their relative’s terror attack will be deported to Gaza and will lose their citizenship.

8) Printing: Printing businesses that print posters supporting terrorism will be closed.

In addition the proposal allows business owners to query the police about an employee’s security offenses, and fire them without fault.

As deterrence measures go, these could actually work,m and work well.

But it is highly unlikely that the plan could actually pass in its current form, as there are too many civil rights issues it rides roughshod over.

But some parts of it might pass muster, and perhaps simply having anything stronger on the books might be enough to help begin deterring Israeli-Arab terrorists and their supporters.

Two student from Yeshiva Beit Orot on the Mount of Olives were injured Friday night when Arab terrorists set upon them as their group of 8 unarmed students were walking to their Yeshiva, coming back from the nearby Beit Hachoshen where they went for evening prayers.

The Choshen is a building on top of the Mount of Olives where 5 families reside, and has a hall that is serves as a local synagogue. It is a 15 minutes walk from Beit Orot.

One of the Jewish students, age 24, was slashed in the back with knife, a second, age 21, suffered a head injury from a metal pole wielded by the group of Arab terrorists. At least one Molotov Cocktail was also thrown at the group, and just barely missed hitting them.

The group of student, including the two wounded Yeshiva students ran the rest of the way back to the Yeshiva, and MDA ambulances transported them to Shaarei Tzedek hospital where they were stitched up. They were listed in lightly injured condition.

Residents of the area are angry that there wasn’t an active police presence on the A-Tur road, where numerous attacks against Jews and tourists repeatedly happen.

Just before Shabbat, according to Jerusalem councilman Arieh King, the local police commander announced a curfew for Jewish residents of the area, stating that any Jews found walking outside in Mount of Olives areas would be arrested. No such astounding announcement was made for the violent Arabs.

Yishai Fleisher, a local resident and JewishPress.com contributing editor told JewishPress.com that the residents will continue to walk the roads of Jerusalem, and the police had better get their act together, “The police need to defend our rights to walk the streets of Jerusalem, not curtail them.”

Yishai adds, the police didn’t place an actual general curfew on the residents from going outside, but unconditionally “forbade” the students from leaving via the back, southern gate of Beit Orot which leads only into Arab areas where rioting is happening.

3:49 PM: Two policeman have been injured by Arab stone throwers near the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, in the past hour.

One was hit in the shoulder, the second in the head when a cinderblock was dropped or thrown at them. Both have been listed as lightly wounded.

Both have been transported to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital.

At around 11:50 AM there was an attempted run-over vehicular terror attack at the Tzofit bus/hitchhiking station. The Arab terrorist tried to run over 3 people, but failed.

The attack happened on the highway near the entrance to the Tzofit neighborhood of Neve Tzuf which is in the Binyamin region.

Ron, a local resident who was on guard duty near the entrance told Tazpit that two boys were sitting on the curbside, and he was standing near them when they saw an Arab van driving towards them at high speed on the shoulder of the road. The guard pointed his gun at the driver and the terrorist then quickly swerved away back onto the road and drove off in the direction of Bir Zit.

The IDF has put up roadblocks and is looking for the terrorist.

Neve Tzuf, also called Halamish, is built on the ruins of an ancient Jewish Talmudic-period city of the same name.

A flash grenade was thrown in Jerusalem’s First Station on Wednesday evening. No one was injured in the attack, and there was no damage.

The grenade was thrown into the outside seating area of the Adom restaurant, located in the First Station promenade.

Witnesses say they saw three Arabs throw the grenade.

First Station is a restaurant and cultural center, at the location of Jerusalem’s old train station. It is situated near Jerusalem’s Abu Tor neighborhood and the Begin Center, where Yehuda Glick was shot two weeks ago by an Arab assassin.

Flash grenades make bright flashes of light and loud explosions, but are non-lethal.

Police are searching the area for the attackers.

Yesterday, a flash grenade was thrown onto Ben Yehuda Street from on top of a building. No one was hurt in that attack.

With the Arabs rioting, breaking windows on the Jerusalem Light Rail, throwing firebombs, and running people over on the train platforms, riding the train can be a bit of a scary and even depressing experience for Jerusalem’s citizens.

A group of Bnei Akiva youth group girls decided they needed to change that.

Every night, from 6 PM to 8 PM, this spirited group of girls from Bnei Akiva’s “Chevraya Bet” are riding the train from beginning to end, and during that time will be raising up the spirits of their fellow passengers.

Girls from Bnei Akiva waiting for the Jerusalem Light Rail

Their slogan is “Together we will will guard Jerusalem.”

They’re also taking pictures with passengers holding up the sign with them and posting the photos to Facebook.

Girls from Bnei Akiva cheering up passengers on the Jerusalem Light Rail.

Girls from Bnei Akiva cheering up passengers on the Jerusalem Light Rail.

Girls from Bnei Akiva cheering up passengers on the Jerusalem Light Rail.

Kol HaKavod!

(All photos: Bnei Akiva, via Tazpit News Agency)