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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Wednesday warned Palestinian terrorist groups of exploiting Israel's political tumult to stir tensions along the border.
“We conclude the quietest year for residents of the Gaza border area in 15 years,” he said during his last visit to the southern border before he is set to step down from office.
“We’re in a state of political instability, but defensive stability must be maintained. I advise our enemies not to challenge that.
The new normal in the south is peace, safety, and normal life. The south is now at all-time high demand, new families and new homes are being built here, that is the real victory photo.”
Bennett also spoke at a town hall in Eshkol Regional Council near the Gaza border and wished for the peace to be maintained.
A little over a year after Israel and Gaza terrorist groups sank into an 11-day conflict, IDF data show that the past year has been the most peaceful along the Gaza border in comparison to other years following an Israeli military operation in the Palestinian enclave since the Jewish state withdrew from the territory in 2005.
According to data, 11 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel this past year, compared to 57 the year after the 2014 Gaza war, 140 after the 2012 war and 297 after the 2008-2009 war.
The IDF struck Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip over the weekend in response to a rocket fired at the southern city of Ashkelon hours earlier.
Among the targets were weapons production sites and Hamas positions along the border with Israel.
The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
This was the first time in about two months that a rocket has been fired into Israel from the territory.