New security measures considered amid continuing violence in Israel

When, and how, will the violence stop? Or will it?

Those were the questions in Israel and nearby Palestinian territories, after a Tuesday that saw more bloodshed, more blame but no apparent moves toward peace.

Instead, Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, said officials in his country are mulling several options aimed at bolstering security, like closing off the Palestinian suburbs of east Jerusalem.

Another alternative being considered is to make it easier for Israelis to buy firearms by relaxing gun-licensing requirements. Currently, Israel has strict restrictions that limit legal firearms to people in a select number of professions and roles.

Of course, violence itself is hardly unprecedented in this part of the world. But the nature of what has happened in recent weeks — with a spate of stabbings and other attacks, from a shooting to driving into crowds — is unique, compared to rocket attacks or more obviously orchestrated armed campaigns of the past.

And neither side appears willing to back down.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken out sternly and repeatedly about what his government will do to defeat “terrorists” and make his nation more secure. To this point, his office announced last weekend that about 1,600 reserve border police officers have been mobilized in Jerusalem, where many recent attacks have occurred, and throughout Israel as “a primary preventive and deterrent measure.”

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