Visiting West Bank, Bennett says Israel on lookout for any ‘hint’ of attack

Visiting Shin Bet security agency’s northern West Bank headquarters, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says Israel is entering a period of “vigilant routine” as security forces work to prevent further terror attacks.

“Terrorists have all kinds of ideas, so we are on high alert, both the Shin Bet and the Israel Police, to identify any hint of an idea or plan for an attack, and thwart it in advance,” Bennett says, after troops killed three gunmen allegedly en route to an attack in Israel yesterday morning.

Bennett says the Israel Defense Forces are also on high alert along the West Bank security barrier, after a gap in the fence was used by a Palestinian who killed five people in a shooting attack in Bnei Brak last week.

“Our goal is to break the wave” of attacks, Bennett says.

“We are now entering a period of ‘vigilant routine,’ where we want the citizens of Israel to return to [their daily] routine and the security forces to be on high alert,” he says.

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar says the security agency is operating “in many theaters” — Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

He says the Shin Bet is “a sharp, determined, skilled organization that learns while on the move and under fire.”

“On Saturday we were under fire together with our brothers from the Yamam. We thwarted a significant attack,” Bar says of the incident near Jenin, during which an elite officer was seriously hurt.