Israel Steps Up Security after Wave of Knife Attacks; Social Media Playing Role in Attacks in Israel
CURNOW: Welcome back, I'm Robyn Curnow, you're watching the INTERNATIONAL DESK. As Israel confronts a wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks, leaders there are furiously responding to remarks by a U.S. official. A U.S. State Department spokesman said there are reports of Israel using, quote, "excessive force" in response to the violence. The Israeli defense minister accused Washington of misreading the situation. And the justice minister said police in the U.S. would act the same way. Israel says heightened security measures will continue, including checkpoints in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Plus licensed gun owners have been asked to carry their weapons. Let's get more from Erin McLaughlin; she's standing by live in Jerusalem for us. Hi, there, Erin; the whole of Israel very much on edge.</s>ERIC MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Robyn. People are apprehensive, some saying that they're looking over their shoulder in a way that they haven't done since the second intifada. An example of this heightened anxiety is an incident that happened on board a train to Haifa earlier this morning. Israeli police say a group of Israeli soldiers were on the train, someone saw something that they thought looked suspicious. One of the soldiers screamed out, "Terrorist." Another soldier opened fire, shot his gun on board this train. And the train eventually reaching the station. Everyone got off, they searched the train and found nothing. It was a false alarm. But it really sort of illustrates just how people are on edge. And that's because, you know, in the -- in the wake of what had been really extreme security measures, thousands of additional police deployed in Jerusalem and in cities throughout Israel. There's also been checkpoints introduced into predominantly Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem as well as increasing numbers of security guards on public transportation. We're continuing to see these attacks yesterday; two attacks, one outside the Old City and then one at a bus station in Central Jerusalem. In both cases, Israeli forces shooting these suspects, Palestinian men. And at least three Israeli civilians were wounded in the process. So people here, both Israelis and Palestinians, say they're very, very scared. People are bracing for what could happen next.</s>CURNOW: "The New York Times" has called it "the intimacy of violence," these stabbing attacks. But that intimacy in many ways also expressed in the measures Israelis are taking to protect themselves buying tear gas, pepper spray, stun guns, batons and, of course, guns.</s>MCLAUGHLIN: Yes, absolutely. And Israeli officials are encouraging gun owners in Israel who have licenses to carry their guns, they say, in self- defense. But it has to be said, you know, while Israelis are terrified at all of this, Palestinians are incredibly scared as well. They're very scared at these checkpoints, when Israeli officials are searching their vehicles. Palestinian mothers are saying they're afraid to leave their homes with their children. Some people are saying that they're afraid to reach for their cell phones in public in fear that an Israeli police officer might misinterpret that as something else. So both sides living in apprehension, both sides right now living in fear. And there's no clear answers as to what can stop these so-called lone wolf attacks, attacks that are very difficult to predict and very difficult to prevent because the people who are carrying them out, Israeli officials say, for the most part, are operating on their own initiative.</s>CURNOW: Thanks so much. Excellent point there, I want to follow through, Erin McLaughlin in Jerusalem. And as Erin was saying, this region is no stranger to violence but these attacks are unusual, young Palestinians stabbing civilians and police seemingly at random.</s>CURNOW (voice-over): Some say, though, they've been incited by cellphone video like this and encouraged or even recruited via social media. I spoke to Israeli social media analyst Orit Perlov about what's happening. She says it's individual acts that are driving this current spate of violence with no central leader.</s>ORIT PERLOV, ISRAELI SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYST: What you see here is you have a brain in Gaza. You have multiple hands in East Jerusalem. And you have the religious fuel coming from Ramallah and from Omil Batem (ph). And one is not connected to the other one. I mean, you don't need to be in the same physical geographical place to drive each other. I call it, in the article, I call it like it's a monster with no, you know, like an octopus with no brain and multiple hands. And that's why it's so difficult to manage or to train because ideas can come from one place. Because of social media, you cannot bury an idea anymore. To kill the Internet is almost impossible. And if you try to take down Facebook pages or YouTube clicks, you know, in a second,</s>CURNOW: OK, that's Orit Perlov there. Well, Russia carries out nearly 3 dozen strikes against what it calls terrorist targets in Syria as President Vladimir Putin carries out his own strike against the Obama administration. Our correspondent in Moscow has the latest. Stay with us. You're watching the IDESK.