Hamas in Gaza
Hamas in GazaIsrael news photo: Flash 90

A senior IDF official said on Monday that there has been an increase in attempts by terrorists who were released in the Shalit deal and sent to Gaza to promote terrorism in Judea and Samaria.

Speaking to Army Radio, the official said that the terrorists released in the deal and who are living in Judea and Samaria are under constant Israeli supervision, and that most of them did not return to terrorist activity.

“It is only the actions of our forces that ensure the security of Israeli citizens,” the official said, adding that the body which tries to encourage terrorism the most is Hamas.

“Along with the Palestinian Authority’s attempt at reconciliation with Hamas, we are detecting a loosening in the PA’s security forces actions against Hamas activists,” he said.

Several of the more than 1,000 terrorists Israel released last October in exchange for Gilad Shalit have been re-arrested after returning to terrorism.

One of the released terrorists, Omar Abu-Sneina, sent a memory card to relatives with detailed instructions on how to kidnap more soldiers. The memory card stated that a live kidnap victim should not be hidden in an isolated area.

Another Hamas terrorist, who participated in the bombing of Café Hillel in Jerusalem and was released in the Shalit deal, took part in an “apartheid week” propaganda tour in South Africa.

The terrorist, Abd al-Aziz Muhammad Moussa Amr, called during the tour for mass marches in Israel's borders in order to “liberate Jerusalem and Palestine.”

He also called for international pressure to aid in the release of his fellow terrorists from Israeli jails the release of terrorists in Israeli jails, whom he characterized as "political prisoners".

The Deputy head of the Binyamin Regional Council, Moti Yogev, recently said that terrorists have been encouraged to try to carry out attacks against Israelis because of the deal to free Gilad Shalit.