Israelis See Substantial Drop in Terror Attacks
JERUSALEM, Israel – There's been a noticeable drop in terror attacks over the past several months. No one would deny it's easy to get used to the decrease in notices of attempted stabbings, bombings, shootings and the like.
Israeli security forces are steadily tracking down would-be terrorists, particularly in areas under Palestinian Authority control.
On Thursday morning, the IDF announced the arrest of a Palestinian officer turned weapons dealer and the discovery of more than two dozen weapons manufacturing facilities in Nablus (biblical Shechem) and Ramallah, where the P.A. has its headquarters.
"Overnight security forces arrested Mahayub Borhan Rashad Knaza, a major weapons dealer in Nablus and a member of the Palestinian security services. Since the beginning of 2016, forces have uncovered and seized seven weapon manufacturing machines in the area of Nablus," the statement read.
"Overnight, security forces seized four weapon manufacturing machines in the area of Ramallah," it continued. "In the past few months, security forces have seized a total of 27 weapon manufacturing machines and over 235 firearms in the Judea and Samaria region. Since the beginning of March, there has been a decrease of over a third of attacks compared to the beginning of the wave of violence."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in on the reasons for the dramatic drop, cautioning the trend could change, as past experience has shown.
The latest terror wave began almost a year ago with daily stabbing attempts, drive-by shootings, bombings, rock and vehicular ramming.
The situation began to change when security forces were given permission to shoot terrorists attempting to murder Israelis. There were still a number of horrific attacks, but slowly they began to wane.
Netanyahu attributed the 70 percent drop over the past 10 months to government-led "aggressive, responsible and systematic policy," along with a balance of offensive and defensive tactics. That, he said, coupled with "aggressive action against Palestinian incitement," has helped restore calm to city streets.
He made the remarks in response to a Palestinian Media Watch post showing the P.A.'s edited footage of a father urging Israeli soldiers to shoot his four year old son. Instead, the soldier delights the toddler with a "high five."
In addition to fighting terrorism, there's also a lot going in Jerusalem and elsewhere to integrate Arab citizens into all aspects of Israeli life.
Plans are underway to beef up law enforcement in Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods. Additional police officers and new facilities are aimed at improving life for the Arab sector.
Sadly, the Palestinian Authority seems more enamored with incitement to violence than promoting peaceful coexistence, as evidenced in its school curriculum, media and cultural events. The government regularly honors terrorists who died in attempted attacks as shahids (martyrs), naming parks and erecting monuments in their memory.
Meanwhile, P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction bragged about killing 11,000 Israelis in a Facebook post translated by PMW.
Until the Palestinian Authority changes its tune, Israel's dream of peaceful coexistence is nothing more than wishful thinking.
