IDF West Bank commander Fox: We are in the middle of a major wave of terror attacks

HEBRON — The head of the IDF’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, says Israel is in the midst of a major terror wave, following the deadly shooting attack near the southern West Bank city of Hebron today.

“We are in the middle of an escalation, a terror wave, the likes of which we have not seen in a long time,” Fox tells reporters at the military’s Judea Regional Brigade base near Hebron. “The IDF and security forces are operating daily in every area, to foil terror.”

“We are trying to get ahead of the enemy and thwart [their plans]. Most of the time we succeed, today, and this week, we didn’t,” Fox says, referring to today’s deadly attack near Hebron and the killing of an Israeli father and son in Huwara on Saturday.

“We will chase down our enemies in Huwara and Hebron, and in any other place,” he says. “We will learn from the incidents, investigate, and draw lessons,” he adds.

Responding to a question by The Times of Israel regarding fears that the ongoing terror wave, which has mostly been in the northern West Bank, is spreading to its south, Fox says that the military had foiled numerous attacks in the Hebron area already .

“It is true that most of the overt terror in the recent period has been in Shomron area,” Fox says, referring to the northern West Bank by its biblical name. “But here too we have foiled dozens of attacks, if not more, including terror cells in the Judea region [southern West Bank].”

“I very much hope we can improve the situation in the northern Shomron too, and in Judea, and foil terror before it is carried out,” he adds.