Terror attacks up in September, says Shin Bet
Most significant increase in West Bank, with killings of two soldiers in separate incidents
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
There were 133 terrorist attacks in September in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, according to the Shin Bet security agency.
The figure represents a significant rise from August, which saw 99 attacks. The most substantial increase was in the West Bank, which suffered 68 attacks in August and 104 the next month.
The two gravest attacks were the murders of IDF soldiers on consecutive days.
Sgt. Gal Gabriel Kobi, 20, was killed outside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron on September 22 by what the army said was a Palestinian sniper shot.
The shooting came a day after off-duty soldier Tomer Hazan was found dead in a village near Qalqilya, having been lured to the area and murdered by a Palestinian acquaintance who confessed to the killing.
The IDF said it does not believe the attacks signify a change in the relatively calm situation in the West Bank, which has been marked by security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in recent years.
“Our assessment remains: These are local events. We don’t see a change in direction, but we will remain at high alert and won’t relax our efforts to protect the Israeli people,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai told Army Radio shortly after the killings.
The Times of Israel Community.