Palestinian terrorism is an ongoing threat. Illustrative banner of gunmen and Dome of the Rock. By Joshua Spurlock
Iran is helping Hamas expand its reach—to Lebanon. That’s the intel from the head of the Shin Bet security service Nadav Argaman, who said on Sunday the Gaza-ruling Hamas is building a secondary base in the national home of fellow Iranian proxy Hezbollah. The Times of Israel reported that Argaman also said Hamas “continues to deepen its strategic ties” to the Iranian “Shiite axis”, referring to the Islamic sect espoused by the theocratic Iranian dictatorship and its ally Hezbollah.
Three years after the last war with Israel, Hamas is under strategic stress as they seek to balance keeping their civilians at home in Gaza content with efforts to re-arm for another conflict with Israel—one in which Argaman says Hamas is “ready.” But even as Hamas may be ready for a fight, Israel isn’t just prepared to continue their war with terror. They’ve been preventing attacks all year from terrorists—hundreds of them, in fact.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Ofir Gendelman posted to his Twitter feed on Sunday that Argaman said that “since Jan. 2017, we have foiled over 200 Palestinian terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, shootings & kidnappings.”
Looking more recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli cabinet that in July and August, the Shin Bet—also known as the Israel Security Agency (ISA)—“thwarted over 70 terrorist cells that were planning attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians.”
Said Netanyahu comments released by his office, “Israelis are not aware of everything the ISA does… I would like to express deep gratitude to the ISA personnel and to all those involved in this important work on behalf of the security of Israel.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, September 10, 2017)