(JNS.org) Yaakov Lappin - The recent terror attack that killed three Israelis in Har Adar is a reminder of Israel's fragile security situation. Hidden from view is a titanic daily struggle between Israel's security forces and Palestinian terrorists. In July and August alone, the Israel Security Agency and the IDF thwarted more than 70 terror cells in the territories that were busy planning and trying to execute attacks. In the West Bank, Hamas is continuously trying to set up, fund, arm, and dispatch terror cells on jihadist missions against Israeli targets on both sides of the 1949 armistice line. Prof. Boaz Ganor, executive director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, said Hamas' policies have two parallel, complimentary parts. "One is a covert consolidation program throughout the West Bank, to create the basis for a future violent clash with Fatah and the PA's forces. The second effort is about seeking rehabilitation from the PA and Abbas, creating a unity government, and waiting for Abbas' passing, and for the unity government to fall like a ripened fruit into Hamas' hands, without the need for a violent clash between the two movements." At the same time, Hamas keeps trying to blow up Israelis. Its cells try to manufacture explosives and plant them on Israeli buses, or as roadside bombs. It is also plotting kidnappings, hoping an Israeli hostage can be traded for the release of more Palestinian prisoners. Hamas is willing to bide its time as it seeks ways to take over the territories. Both elections and armed revolution are acceptable routes, whichever works best.
2017-10-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive