Netanyahu Praises Security Forces for Decline in Terror Attacks
JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Shin Bet (Israeli security agency), the Israel Police and IDF troops for the decline in terror attacks, while noting the trend "could reverse itself."
"I would like to commend the IDF, ISA and Israel Police for implementing this policy, for the alertness of the soldiers, police and commanders, and for the combined offensive and defensive effort that has led to the terrorists' succeeding less," Netanyahu told cabinet ministers Sunday morning.
"I say this with great caution because this trend could reverse itself," he added. "But we know that it has been achieved up to now as a result of the government's strong, responsible and methodical policy."
Meanwhile over the weekend, Palestinian Authority security forces thwarted a potential terror attack, arresting three suspects on Saturday and confiscating their weapons, which included automatic rifles and hand grenades.
P.A. intelligence forces tracked the three-member cell after they vacated their headquarters in a rented apartment in Ramallah and disappeared late last week. They arrested them in an open area between two Arab villages north of the P.A.'s Ramallah headquarters.
Gaza-based Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri criticized the arrests, calling it "a dangerous development and a sign of increased security coordination" between the P.A. and Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported.
"This coordination is aimed at aborting the intifada (armed Palestinian uprising) and targeting Palestinian resistance," Zuhri said. "Hamas condemns the practices of the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and holds the Palestinian Authority and Fatah leadership responsible for these unpatriotic measures."
Another Gaza-based Hamas official accused P.A. chairman Mahmoud Abbas of attempting to "thwart the popular uprising."
On Friday evening, Israeli forces arrested three wanted Hamas members who took part in recent terror attacks, along with six others charged with firebombing IDF soldiers.
Meanwhile, Gaza-based terrorists targeted IDF troops conducting routine patrols along the southern border Friday and Sunday morning. On Friday, an IDF bulldozer ran over a roadside bomb, which exploded but did not damage to the Caterpillar D9 or injure any soldiers.
On Sunday morning, Gaza-based snipers opened fire on Israeli troops, but no one was hurt.
