Is today's bulldozer attack in Jerusalem indicative of a developing trend in terrorist tactics in the West Bank?
Similar to the March shooting that killed eight Israelis at a religious school in Jerusalem, various Palestinian groups took credit for today's attack that involved a Palestinian man running a Caterpillar front loader into traffic and pedestrians. This includes the mysterious Ahrar al-Jalil group, who also took credit for the March shooting. A statement they released today states that the perpetrator of the attack was allegedly recruited by the organization in February of this year. While the group sometimes refers to itself as the “Imad Mughniyeh Group” after Hezbollah's assassinated paramilitary leader, it's not clear if there is any true operational link between the Palestinian group and Hezbollah.
While it remains unclear who actually carried out the attack and their political affiliation, what's interesting is that individuals have been employing low-tech and non-traditional means to hit soft (civilian) targets. Given the highly securitized nature of the West Bank, this could just be a natural progression since more formal terrorist networks, employing traditional means (i.e. explosives), are easier to screen and detect. Employing shadowy groups and/or individuals with no apparent links to such networks could also be a way to deflect any political fallout from such brutal attacks. Meanwhile, the psychological impact of these low-tech attacks is perhaps just as significant as that resulting from a more typical suicide bombing on a bus or in an open market.
