MK Danny Yatom (Labor) said Sunday that Israel should build a second security barrier in Jerusalem, in order to prevent Arab residents of the city from carrying out attacks in Jewish neighborhoods or in other Jewish cities.  Yatom made his statement in response to the terrorist attack in the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva on Thursday, which was carried out by an Arab resident of Jerusalem.

Yatom called to build a security barrier between the eastern part of Jerusalem, which is mostly Arab, and the western part, which is mostly Jewish.  The barrier would allow police to check Arabs from east Jerusalem before allowing them to continue in to pre-1967 Israel, he said, thus preventing attacks.

Yatom pointed out that Arab residents of Jerusalem, who carry Israeli ID cards, have been involved in an estimated 25 percent of terrorist attacks targeting Israelis.  If Arab Israelis in other parts of the country were to be similarly involved in terrorism, he said, Israel should react by harshly punishing those who support terrorism, and not by building more barriers.