Israeli defense officials have voiced concern about a spike in intelligence this past month regarding “planned, large-scale terror attacks across the West Bank.” The intelligence pertains to organized attacks that are directed by Palestinian militant organizations, mainly the Islamist Hamas, which has been actively aspiring to set attacks in motion with orders from the Gaza Strip and with the assistance of funding and directives to its operatives in the West Bank. These refer to shooting attacks and possibly also kidnappings. The intelligence does not pertain to what the defense establishment terms as ‘lone wolf attacks,’ which generally are not preceded by any prior intelligence and do not rely on the infrastructure of an organization that is behind the attack, as was the case in the two most recent lethal attacks in which three Israelis were killed. The organized attacks in question are expected to be committed by militant cells that are equipped with weapons against either Israeli civilians or soldiers. Operations of that kind require financing and planning that are generally overseen by Hamas’ headquarters in Gaza. The assessment by Israel’s security establishment is that despite the crisis in relations with the Palestinian Authority and the mounting incitement of the Palestinian public, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has not changed its policy and is opposed to transitioning to a violent conflict with Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli-Palestinian security coordination continues on the ground and the Palestinian intelligence organizations continue to operate against terrorist groups, in keeping with the Palestinian Authority’s interests and with the goal of not losing control over the situation on the ground.
