Over 300 ‘significant’ terror attacks foiled so far this year, says Shin Bet chief

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar says the security agency has foiled more than 300 “significant” terror attacks this year, as the IDF has ramped up operations in the West Bank under its direction.

“We foiled 312 significant terrorist attacks, stabbings, shootings, suicide attacks, and have made 2,110 arrests” since the beginning of the year, Bar says at a conference at Herzliya’s Reichman University.

At the same time, Bar says there has been a massive increase in shooting attacks against troops and civilians, 130 this year so far, compared to just 98 in 2021 and 19 in 2020.

Bar says Israel is required to boost its activity in the West Bank to foil further attacks. He says troops operating in the West Bank are “a protective blanket” for Israeli citizens.

But he adds that these operations come at a cost to Palestinians, with innocent people harmed and the status of the Palestinian Authority further declining among the local population.

To calm the tensions, Bar says the PA’s security services must be strengthened: “The Palestinian public wants this too, but it takes two to tango.”