Palestinian Violence Soars: Six-Days, Eleven Attacks, 13- and 16-Year Old Assailants

As the “lone wolf” spiral of Palestinian violence typified by knife attacks reaches the one-year mark, eleven incidents have occurred during the past six days, some featuring assailants as young as 13 and 16 years of age. On Wednesday at a West Bank crossing point, a 13-year old Palestinian girl moved toward vehicles and was told to stop. After the orders to halt were ignored, guards fired into the air as they repeated the order. When the would-be assailant made a threatening gesture by reaching into her blouse, guards shot her in the leg, neutralizing the threat. Her wounds are described as light to moderate. After the incident an investigation was begun during which time the young attacker reportedly told police that she “came here to die.” On Tuesday, a 16-year old boy was shot by police as he tried to stab an officer near the West Bank city of Hebron.