The Shin Bet has thwarted more than 200 “significant” terrorist attacks since the beginning of the year, the internal intelligence agency’s chief said on Tuesday.
Related stories:
“We are in a challenging time, both at home and abroad. The source is Iranian, Shi’ite, Hamasi, Jihadi, [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine] and Salafi and various local phenomena,” Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar said during a Passover toast with the IDF General Staff Forum and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“To illustrate the numbers: only 3 months have passed and this year over 200 significant attacks have been thwarted, including about 150 shooting attacks, 20 bomb attacks, car rammings, suicide bombings, kidnappings and more. Unfortunately, we’ve also suffered 15 painful losses.”
According to him, the so-called Team Tequila, the Shin Bet's operational unit responsible for thwarting terrorist attacks which was first revealed to the public only two years ago, has already been deployed 14 times since the beginning of this year.
Bar's statement came just hours after two IDF soldiers were injured in a stabbing attack near a military base in central Israel.
The attacker was overpowered by civilians on the scene and taken into custody by the police. Meanwhile, security forces have launched a manhunt for a possible second assailant who fled the scene by car.
Arrest of terrorist near central Israel army base
Netanyahu thanked Shin Bet members for "the hard work you do around the clock."
"I think this work is among the best if not the best in the world, and it is no coincidence that people come from all over the globe to see what we do. You deserve all the praise, also for the effort and sacrifice, and the commitment to the security of the country," the premier said.
"In the end, we reach every terrorist. This is a great achievement because whoever comes to harm us should know that their blood is on their own heads."