Why IDF favors carrots, not sticks for West Bank Palestinians
IDF experts disagree whether Israel should increase pressure on the Palestinian Authority and apply punitive measures or whether it should increase incentives to calm the situation on the ground.
Ostensibly, the statement released by the Shin Bet regarding the investigation findings of the Palestinian minor who killed Dafna Meir in the Otniel settlement on Jan. 17 was a standard one. The 15-year-old terrorist from the village of Beit Amra close to Hebron was apprehended the day after the killing at his home in the village. He succeeded in infiltrating Otniel and escaping without interference; the Shin Bet got to him within 24 hours.
What was unusual this time, was that the Shin Bet released details about what triggered the Palestinian youth to perpetrate the attack. "The interrogation by the Shin Bet revealed that prior to the deadly attack, the minor had watched Palestinian TV broadcasts that portrayed Israel as the ‘killer of Palestinian youths.’ In addition, the interrogation revealed that on the day of the assault, and under the influence of the contents to which he had been exposed on Palestinian TV, the minor decided to carry out a stabbing attack with the goal of killing a Jew. In light of the proximity of the Otniel settlement to his residence, the minor decided to carry out the terror attack in Otniel."
