The intelligence was released by the Israel Security Agency just before the start of the Passover holiday.
By Jonathan Hessen and Erin Viner
“We face a challenging period, both internal and external,” announced Director General Ronen Bar of the ISA, also known as the Shin Bet.
“From the beginning of the year, we conclude a quarterly period during which we foiled over 200 ‘significant attacks’ – 150 firearm incidents, about 20 explosive attacks, attempted suicide bombings and car-rammings,” he said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Director Bar also noted the unfortunate “painful loss” of 15 victims to Arab terror during the same period.
Intelligence provided by the ISA has led to thousands of arrests of suspected terror operatives as part of operation Waves Breaker. It also accomplishes a long list of other critical security related activities.
“I want to thank you for your hard work, around the clock. I think that this work is among the best, perhaps it is the best, in the world. It is no coincidence that they come from around the world to see what we are doing. You deserve all the praise, for the effort, sacrifice and commitment to the security of the state,” Prime Minister Netanyahu told the agents, underscoring, “In the end, you find every terrorist. This is a great achievement because whoever comes to harm us, needs to know that he will pay the price.”
Netanyahu continued, saying, “Iran is responsible for 95% of the security threats against us, including those that you deal with both directly and indirectly. Of course, we must deal with new threats; this is our capability as the State of the Jewish People.”
At a separate meeting ahead of Passover at IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv, the Israeli leader expressed thanks to the nation’s military and its top commander, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi.
“I would like to express my appreciation to you, Chief of Staff, personally, and to the entire chain of command, to all the soldiers – for your incredible, relentless daily effort for the security of Israel,” said Netanyahu.
“This effort is mostly although not entirely known by the public, but it is familiar to me – and I know how much it serves the security and every citizen in the State of Israel and our country as well. And for that you have our gratitude, our sincere and deep gratitude, and also for your commitment to the security of Israel,” he said.
Addressing rising threats from Iran, Netanyahu commented that, “In every generation, there are those who rise up to destroy us.The appearance of Zionism and the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel has not prevented the appearance and rise of new enemies who want to rise up against us and destroy us. There were those who thought that Zionism would lead to the disappearance of antisemitism destructive attacks against the Jews. This has not happened. But those who reads about many of the fathers of Zionism know that they believed in another thing: Not that deadly antisemitism would disappear but that the Jews would restore their ability to defend themselves against this antisemitism. This is exactly what happened with the establishment of the State of Israel, with the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces and our security arms.”
During a separate meeting at headquarters of the Mossad Intelligence Agency, Netanyahu received a classified briefing about the latest secret missions and commended those who carried them out.
“The combination of our might with brains, patience, diligence and an unlimited commitment, you turn a vision into reality proving we will overcome relentless enemies who present an existential threat to our state and attempt to harm our people,” stated Mossad Director David Barnea to his agents.
Emphasizing clear dangers presented by the Islamic Republic, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that Israel’s “Supreme Mission” is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, as failure to do so would create an unacceptable reality “in which the entire world will be hostage to those who have inscribed on their flag their desire to destroy us.”