Counter-Suicide-Terrorism: Evidence from House Demolitions / Efraim Benmelech, Claude Berrebi, Esteban Klor.

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Benmelech, Efraim

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TextSeries: Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) ; no. w16493.Publication details: Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2010.Description: 1 online resource: illustrations (black and white)Subject(s):

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Abstract: This paper examines whether house demolitions are an effective counterterrorism tactic against suicide terrorism. We link original longitudinal micro-level data on houses demolished by the Israeli Defense Forces with data on the universe of suicide attacks against Israeli targets. By exploiting spatial and time variation in house demolitions and suicide terror attacks during the second Palestinian uprising, we show that punitive house demolitions (those targeting Palestinian suicide terrorists and terror operatives) cause an immediate, significant decrease in the number of suicide attacks. The effect dissipates over time and by geographic distance. In contrast, we observe that precautionary house demolitions (demolitions justified by the location of the house but not related to the identity or any action of the house's owner) cause a significant increase in the number of suicide terror attacks. The results are consistent with the view that selective violence is an effective tool to combat terrorist groups, whereas indiscriminate violence backfires.

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Previous	nber w16490 Agency Problems and the Fate of Capitalism /	nber w16491 Currency Carry Trades /	nber w16492 Composition of Capital Flows: A Survey /	nber w16493 Counter-Suicide-Terrorism: Evidence from House Demolitions /	nber w16494 Productivity Growth and the Regional Dynamics of Antebellum Southern Development /	nber w16495 Inflation and the Fiscal Limit /	nber w16496 The Benefits of Breastfeeding Across the Early Years of Childhood /	Next

October 2010.

This paper examines whether house demolitions are an effective counterterrorism tactic against suicide terrorism. We link original longitudinal micro-level data on houses demolished by the Israeli Defense Forces with data on the universe of suicide attacks against Israeli targets. By exploiting spatial and time variation in house demolitions and suicide terror attacks during the second Palestinian uprising, we show that punitive house demolitions (those targeting Palestinian suicide terrorists and terror operatives) cause an immediate, significant decrease in the number of suicide attacks. The effect dissipates over time and by geographic distance. In contrast, we observe that precautionary house demolitions (demolitions justified by the location of the house but not related to the identity or any action of the house's owner) cause a significant increase in the number of suicide terror attacks. The results are consistent with the view that selective violence is an effective tool to combat terrorist groups, whereas indiscriminate violence backfires.