The IDF has thwarted many terrorist attacks in the West Bank in recent months, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said on Tuesday during a visit to assess the security situation in Hebron ahead of Purim.
Due to “extensive counterterrorism activities in the Central Command and especially in the city of Hebron, the [IDF] in the past months has foiled between 20 and 30 terrorist attacks a week,” said Liberman.
It has relied in part on advanced technology to work against increased terrorist efforts, he said.
The security services “are working hard so we can celebrate the Purim holiday quietly,” said Liberman.
He came to the part of the city under Israeli military control, along with Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, head of Central Command Maj.-Gen. Roni Numa and Maj.-Gen. Yoav “Poli” Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories.
The visit came in advance of Thursday’s annual Purim parade by the city’s Jewish community of some 1,000 people, which begins in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood and ends at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
Before the start of the 2016 parade, two Palestinians stabbed a soldier where the march was set to begin. Other soldiers immediately shot both assailants, killing one and wounding the second, Abdel Fattah al-Sharif.
Another soldier who arrived at the scene, combat medic Elor Azaria, then fatally shot Sharif in the head, as he lay immobile on the ground.
In one of the more hotly debated trials of the past few years, Azaria was found guilty of manslaughter and is now serving a 14-month sentence.
Over the last three years soldiers in Hebron, especially those guarding the Cave of the Patriarchs, have been heavily targeted in stabbing or attempted stabbing incidents.
During the visit Liberman was shown weapons that soldiers had seized from Palestinians in the area.
Liberman thanked Numa for his service over the last three years as the head of Central Command, saying he had worked to contain the terrorist threat in a complex reality. Numa will be replaced by Maj.-Gen. Nadav Padan.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/PA-minister-Hamas-preventing-Palestinian-govt-from-operating-in-Gaza-515246
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