Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned “many more” attempted terror attacks are likely in the country’s future, after praising security forces on Saturday for killing three Islamic Jihad operatives, whom he referred to as a “ticking time bomb.”
“We certainly assume there will be many more attempts and we are working right now to prevent them,” Bennett declared, wishing a “speedy recovery” to four Israeli soldiers injured in a shootout with alleged Islamic Jihad terrorists early Saturday morning.
According to the Shin Bet intelligence service, the Palestinians were in a vehicle in the village of Arraba when they opened fire on an Israeli team that was trying to arrest them. The group was said to be involved in recent activities against Israeli security forces and on its way to carry out another attack, with Israeli troops claiming they found an M16 rifle, multiple magazines, and a hand grenade in the vehicle.
Islamic Jihad reportedly claimed the three men as members of its military wing and denounced their killing as a dangerous escalation, promising to continue its attacks. A series of terror attacks in the past week has been linked not only to Islamic Jihad and Hamas but also to the Islamic State terror group, according to Bennett. A daytime Israeli raid on the Palestinian city of Jenin on Thursday saw dozens arrested, leaving two gunmen dead and 14 Palestinians wounded. Those arrested had not necessarily committed any crimes but were believed to be planning future attacks, according to the IDF.
The Israeli government has responded to an uptick in violence by flooding the West Bank, Gaza border and other hotspots with additional troops, claiming the move is aimed at allowing citizens to go about their normal lives.