Israel security forces have seen a sharp rise in the number of violent attacks, primarily rock-throwing incidents, carried out by Palestinians, since an anti-settlement resolution was passed on December 23, 2016 by the United Nations Security Council, Israeli officials said.
The rise was recorded in the last week of December 2016 and the first week of January 2017.
Rock attacks usually increase at this time of year due to it being exam season in Palestinian high schools and because a number of important dates fall around this time of year, such as the founding of the Fatah party and the anniversary of the first ever Palestinian terrorist attack against Israel. However, they note a larger than average increase compared to the same time period in previous years.
Looking at the past few months date you can see the increase. In September 346 rock-throwing attacks were recorded, in October 375, in November 420, and in December 344. Most of the December attacks occurred in the final week of the month. In the first week of January there were 169 recorded attacks, a pace that, if maintained, would lead to almost 700 attacks by the end of the month.
The spike in attacks is thought to be due to the anti-Israel UNSC Resolution 2334, the anti-Israel speech that John Kerry gave shortly after and the ongoing discussions about present-elect Donald Trump moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
