The recent thwarting of several bombing attacks in the West Bank last week is worrying security officials and residents in Israel. This phenomenon, which reminds Israelis of scenes they thought were long gone, is occurring while a major security operation to counter terrorism in the northern West Bank is still ongoing following months of intense fighting in the area.
An Israeli security official told Sky News Arabic, "The Iranians are delivering money and weapons to the West Bank. In recent months, we've seen an increase in Iranian efforts to turn the area into a real battlefield. The Palestinian Authority, like us, fears the possibility of a scenario similar to October 7 in the West Bank.”
“We’re concerned about the possibility of a large-scale attack on one of the settlements or even within Israel and we’re preparing for such a scenario. While the current focus is on the northern West Bank, we’re also monitoring threats in the southern West Bank and operations may expand there as well,” the official added.
Chief Superintendent Yair Rozilio, who serves as the Border Police’s West Bank operations officer, told Ynet, "It’s now possible to improvise an explosive device using agricultural means, fertilizer and gas tanks. There are various options, it's all available on the internet and terrorists who specialize in this field know how to make bombs. This is common."
According to Rozilio, "We encountered numerous explosive devices across our sector just this week. We're in the middle of a very large operation, in which explosive devices are targeting our forces. You can see the army's bulldozers digging up roads to neutralize the bombs planted in them in videos on social media. Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more common in the West Bank."
"The escalation in terrorism reminds us of the Second Intifada," he added, but he clarified the explosive devices were directed at city centers at the time. Such an incident took place only once so far in Tel Aviv, where luck alone prevented a catastrophe.
"It’s very difficult for terrorists today to carry out attacks in central Israel due to the IDF and Border Police’s intensified operations in the West Bank," Rozilion explained. "Most terrorists are intercepted and neutralized by security forces. In tragic cases, they manage to kill civilians and soldiers as we saw in the murder of the three police officers."
Rozilio stressed that despite the increase in such incidents the rate of foiled attacks remains "extremely high." He added that "around 90% of the warnings are thwarted before the terrorists even manage to set out."
Alongside the demand from the government and security forces to increase the number of counterterrorism operations, Israeli settlers are consistently raising the issue of checkpoints and calling for their reinstatement.
Security officials explain that checkpoints don't necessarily provide real security, saying, "One must understand that a checkpoint creates a sense of security, not actual security. Terrorists will bypass checkpoints just as they do now."