The terror wave may be slowing down, but IDF officials fear it may be the quiet before the storm, anticipating a spike in attacks during the Pesach holiday season and month of Ramadan.
Since the so-called “knife-intifada” began last September, the number of terror attacks has dwindled, falling to nearly zero in the past few weeks.
While there were 842 attacks recorded in the month of October, by March that figure had fallen to 125.
A senior IDF official discussed the recent decline in terrorism, claiming the security establishment was largely responsible for the drop.
The specific reasons cited for the drop-off in violence included improvements by intelligence services, heightened operations targeting areas with high levels of terrorism, and the growing sense among Palestinian Arabs that the violence has harmed them.
As local Arabs have seen the repercussions of terrorism on the families of terrorists, including home demolitions or the loss of working permits [in Israel], the will to perpetrate violent attacks on Israelis have fallen.
“But”, warns the official, “this trend could – or is even likely – to change quickly, and we’re preparing for a drastic deterioration [of the security situation] during the Pesach holiday season, when there is a high concentration of events [nationwide], including Independence Day, and [this year] Ramadan.”
“This is a very dangerous period, and we’re preparing for it, including with increased forces in the field. We can’t relax for a moment either in the field or with intelligence-gathering operations, despite the lull in terrorism.”