Palestinian suicide attacks against Israel lead to increased levels of Palestinian fatalities, a new study concluded.Using data on violence and attempted violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the study sought “to examine the dynamics” of suicide attacks and targeted killings during the second intifada. It concluded that Israel reacts to suicide attacks in the short run, meaning that Palestinian deaths rise after a fatal attack on Israel.The study suggested that for every successful Palestinian suicide attack there are seven additional Palestinian fatalities, a find that debunks a “tit-for-tat” theory of retaliation. It also found that targeted killings of Palestinian leaders are effective; while such killings do tend to increase terrorist activity, they do not necessarily lead to Israeli fatalities.”Overall number of Israeli fatalities and the number of Israelis killed in suicide attacks fall in the first week after a targeted killing,” the study concludes.The study was released by the Institute for the Study of Labor and authored by two academics, David Jaeger of the College of William and Mary and M. Daniele Paserman of Hebrew University.
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