Israel calls on Secretary-General and Security Council President to make clear statement against Palestinian incitement – Letter from Israel

Identical letters dated 13 October 2015 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Today, Israel has awoken to yet another morning of terror. Over the course of merely two hours, four terror attacks were carried out against Israeli citizens, claiming the lives of three and injuring dozens.

I am writing to you because a wave of terror continues to spread across the nation and it spares no one — babies, children, men and women are being targeted every day. Israelis do not feel safe walking down the street, they avoid taking the bus to work and they fear for the lives of their children every time they walk out the door. This reign of terror must stop.

Just this morning, two separate attacks hit the city of Jerusalem: 2 Israeli citizens were killed and 15 were wounded, several seriously, in a combined shooting and stabbing attack on a bus. In a separate attack in Jerusalem, one person was killed and another was wounded after a Palestinian terrorist rammed into a crowd with his car and then stepped out and attempted to stab the wounded individuals with a butcher knife. In the city of Ra'anana, a man was stabbed by a 22-year-old Palestinian terrorist while standing at a bus stop. Soon after, a Palestinian man attacked and injured four people outside the city's hospital.

On Monday, in a particularly shocking and horrific attack, two Palestinian teenagers, one of them merely 13 years old, stabbed a 13-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle and an Israeli man who was walking down the street. This was just one of the four attacks that took place on that day alone, three of which were carried out by minors.

These are just a few examples of the 12 horrendous terror attacks that took place in the past 72 hours alone. Over the course of this month, 24 attacks against Israelis claimed the lives of 8 individuals and injured 41. A complete list of the attacks is presented in the annex to the present letter.

Such acts of pitiless slaughter do not occur in a vacuum; rather, they are the product of a deliberate policy of incitement directed to inflame the hatred in the minds of Palestinian children. It is therefore no surprise that most of the attackers in recent events are young Palestinians. Palestinian publications on social media call upon Palestinian youth to stab Jews and applaud violent acts, such as the murder of Eitam and Na'ama Henkin, who were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in a shooting attack on their vehicle. Their four children were in the vehicle at the time of the attack and watched their parents die in front of their eyes.

This incitement is also a result of the propagation of false allegations against Israel, in particular regarding the status quo on the Temple Mount. Some elements are deliberately taking advantage of the sanctity and sensitivity of this holy site to incite violence. As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has clearly stated time and again, Israel is fully committed to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount.

This string of attacks is a direct result of Palestinian incitement. I call upon you to make a clear and unequivocal statement against incitement before it leads to further loss of lives. Only the cessation of the incitement will alleviate this dangerous situation and bring calm and security to the region.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter and its annex distributed as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Danny Danon

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

Annex to the identical letters dated 13 October 2015 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

Terror attacks in Israel from 13 September to 13 October 2015

The following is a review of major terror attacks against Israeli civilians that have occurred since 13 September 2015. This is a partial list, which does not include attacks thwarted by the security forces or the many instances of rock throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks that did not result in severe injuries.

13 September

· Jerusalem: A rock attack on a car, on the Jewish New Year, resulted in the death of the driver, Alexander Levlovitz

1 October

· On a road leading to Elon Moreh: Rabbi Eitam Henkin (31 years of age) and his wife Na'ama (30 years of age) were murdered in a drive-by shooting while traveling with their four young children (4 months and 4, 7 and 9 years of age)

3 October

· Jerusalem: Two individuals were killed in a stabbing attack near the Lion's Gate. Aharon Banita-Bennet (22 years of age) was stabbed to death on the way to the Western Wall in the Old City on Saturday evening with his wife and two young children. His wife and two-year-old son were wounded. Rabbi Nehemia Lavi (the father of seven children), who came to the aid of the Banita-Bennet family, was attacked and stabbed to death

4 October

· Jerusalem: Moshe Malka (15 years of age) was stabbed and wounded (near a light rail stop) on his way to prayers at the Western Wall

7 October

· Petah Tiqwa: A knife-wielding attacker at a shopping mall wounded one individual. The knife broke, preventing further victims

· Gush Etzion, Judea, south of Jerusalem: A woman (38 years of age) was attacked while driving from her home in Tekoa. The attackers threw rocks at her and tried to drag her from her car. Lightly wounded, she succeeded in closing the car door and escaped

· Jerusalem: A Palestinian woman (18 years of age) stabbed a 36-year-old man at the Lion's Gate in the Old City

· Kiryat Gat: A terrorist stabbed a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces and snatched his gun, then ran into a nearby apartment, where a woman was just returning home. She fought with him and managed to flee. The terrorist was killed by police

8 October

· Tel Aviv: A female soldier and three other individuals were stabbed. The terrorist was shot and killed

· Jerusalem: A yeshiva student (25 years of age) was seriously injured and another man was lightly injured in a stabbing attack near the light rail. The terrorist (19 years of age) was arrested

· Kiryat Arba: A man (31 years of age) was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack

· Afula: A soldier was stabbed by a resident of Jenin (20 years of age), who was apprehended by bystanders and held until the police arrived

9 October

· Jerusalem: A boy (16 years of age) was beaten and stabbed and lightly injured. The attacker (18 years of age, from Hebron in the West Bank) was later apprehended by police

· Kiryat Arba: A terrorist stabbed a police officer (47 years of age) and tried to grab his gun. Other officers shot him

· Afula: A female terrorist tried to stab a security guard at the Central Bus Station. She was shot and wounded

10 October

· Jerusalem: A terrorist (16 years of age) stabbed two men in their 60s near the Damascus Gate, leaving them moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. The terrorist then attacked border police officers, who shot and killed him

· Jerusalem (near the Damascus Gate): A Palestinian (19 years of age, from Shuafat) stabbed two police officers

11 October

· Ma'ale Adummim-Jerusalem highway: A police officer was lightly injured when he pulled over a driver who was acting suspiciously, and the driver set off an explosive device. Gas canisters were found in the car

· Northern Israel (between Hadera and Afula): Four individuals were injured at a bus station in a combined ramming/stabbing attack. A female soldier (19 years of age) is in serious condition (as of 13 October, her situation remains critical); a girl (who turned 15 years of age on that day) is in moderate condition; two men (20 and 45 years of age) are in light condition. The terrorist first rammed his car into two of the victims, then got out and started stabbing. The terrorist (20 years of age, from Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel) was apprehended with the help of bystanders

12 October

· Jerusalem: A stabbing attack was foiled at the Lion's Gate. The terrorist (18 years of age, from eastern Jerusalem) was shot and killed

· Jerusalem (Ammunition Hill, northern Jerusalem): A border policeman was stabbed and lightly injured by a female terrorist (16 years of age)

· Jerusalem (Pisgat Ze'ev, in northern Jerusalem): Two terrorists (13 and 17 years of age) stabbed and seriously wounded a man (25 years of age) and a boy (13 years of age) riding his bicycle. Police shot and killed one terrorist and apprehended the second. The boy is in critical condition

· Jerusalem: A terrorist (22 years of age) on a bus stabbed a soldier (19 years of age) and tried to grab his gun. After a struggle, the terrorist was shot and killed by a police officer

13 October

· Ra'anana (centre of the country, north-east of Tel Aviv): Two stabbing attacks occurred in the morning, an hour apart: in the first attack, which took place at a bus stop on a main street, a man (32 years of age) suffered light wounds; the attacker (from eastern Jerusalem) was subdued by passers-by and held until the police arrived. The second attack resulted in one individual being seriously wounded and three others being lightly wounded; the terrorist was arrested

· Jerusalem: A shooting and stabbing attack occurred on a bus in a southern Jerusalem neighbourhood. One individual (60 years of age) was killed and 15 others were wounded, several seriously. Police shot and subdued the two terrorist perpetrators

· Jerusalem: A ramming/stabbing attack occurred at a bus stop not far from the Central Bus Station. One individual was killed and several others were injured

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