JERUSALEM—After rushing to the scene of Tuesday’s front loader attack on King David Street, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski indicated a possible crackdown on Arab construction workers throughout the city. “We should reconsider the employment of these people,” he told a television reporter at the scene of the attack. He praised the diligence and effectiveness of Israel’s security forces, but said construction equipment, if placed in the wrong hands, gives Israel’s enemies a back door through which they can attack Israel’s population centers.

Immediately after Tuesday’s attack, a group of about 50 religious Jews assembled at the crime scene to protest the spread of terrorism, chanting slogans denouncing the leadership in the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. A few hours later, in a Jewish neighborhood frequented by Arab shoppers, an angry mob of Orthodox Jewish youths attacked two Arabs, beating them “to a pulp.” The situation might have taken a turn for the worse had the two East Jerusalem residents not found refuge in the home of a Jewish family.

This year’s uptick in violent attacks in Jerusalem has some commentators wondering if we might be witnessing the beginning of the third intifada. According toHaaretz, “Since the start of the year there have been five major attacks in Jerusalem, claiming the lives of 12 Israelis. During the first half of the year, the Shin Bet security service arrested 71 Palestinians from East Jerusalem suspected of being involved in attacks, compared to 37 such arrests during the entire year of 2007.” According to the report, Israel’s security forces are discussing possible crackdowns to help curb the violence. These attacks, Haaretz writes, “constitute a new challenge for Israel.” At present, security officials told Haaretz, “there is no means to counter them” (emphasis mine).

This morning, following the lead of Mayor Lupolianski, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit told Israel Radio that heavy equipment operators from East Jerusalem should not be allowed to work in Jewish neighborhoods. He also suggested that Israel should revoke the residency permits of Jerusalem Arabs. According to Sheetrit, “dozens of terrorists” have sneaked into Israel thanks to family reunification laws put in place by Israel’s judicial system.

To better understand where this is all leading, read what we wrote after the first bulldozer attack earlier this month.