Prof. Buddy Hasasi and Dr. Simon Perry found that there is no early planning behind the overhaul attacks • More from the study: Most of the terrorists have been injured near their place of residence

• Override attack on the station complex in Jerusalem // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon

"What characterizes runaway attacks as opposed to other attacks is that terrorists do not have to prepare the infrastructure, neither the weapons nor the knife. Most of these attacks are spontaneous attacks. The terrorists see people walking in the street, assess their vulnerability and decide to take the opportunity and make the fateful decision. "Just relax," says Professor Buddy Hasasi of the Institute of Criminology at the Hebrew University. Along with Dr. Simon Perry, he conducted research on overriding attacks that found that behind a large portion of cases there was no early planning.

"Making the decision to hit is spontaneous in 44 percent of the cases," adds Prof. Hasasi. "28 percent decided to carry out the attack that day, 43 percent less than 5 km from where they live, and 78 percent less than 15 km from their place of residence.

Is it possible to identify such a hazard in advance and why is it different from other hazards?

"There is no unique profile for the perpetrators, and no research has found this, certainly not for individual perpetrators."

Documentation of the attack in the Old City // Photo: Police spokeswomen

What is the best punishment that can deter you and prevent further attacks?

"Punishment is one of the components of deterrence but not the main one. Our research data showed that there was a concentration of terrorist attacks on hotspots, and we also identified traffic jams that many victims used, called 'hot axes'. This has implications for prevention and counterterrorism efforts. It is important to note that there are tense periods like the days when the chances of attacks increase, and instead of being interpreted in large areas, the effort can be focused on limited places that are more likely to be attacked. Called sacrifice attacks, so punishment is not something they did Discourage them. "

Prof. Hassei adds that in many cases, "Security and law enforcement agencies do not know how to check where the perpetrator came from and then a problem arises. From criminology studies we already know that non-focused invasive response is also ineffective and frustrates people. The prevention and counterterrorism efforts of smaller area cells should be concentrated, thereby reducing the occurrence of attacks and invasive operations in the space that could result in collective punishment of entire populations. This concentration may also reduce costs in the prevention and thwarting efforts of terrorist attacks. "

Are there any areas that are more prone to calamity?

Dr. Perry: "Yes, definitely. First, proximity to the victims' place of residence is important. Second, areas where there is a more accessible population mix for the perpetrators, places that victims can reach quickly and easily. It should be noted that we usually see attacks carried out in the routine life trajectory of the terrorists. They are not looking for special and unfamiliar places. The results of our recent study found that most of the over-riding attacks were close to the victims' home, just like regular crime. 50 percent of the terrorist attacks were less than 10 km from the terrorists' home, and 70 percent were within 15 km. In other words, the perpetrators prefer contractions they know, known goals, and want to know where they can escape in a timely manner. "

Does a hazard take into account economic considerations?

"It is amazing to see that most of the victims do not use a stolen vehicle but their private vehicle or that of a relative. Only the smallest minority of vehicles in which the attacks were carried out are stolen vehicles. This is the case with spontaneous attacks."