Ya'alon meets with generals
Ya'alon meets with generalsDefense Ministry

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) visited the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division headquarters on Wednesday night, and was briefed by commanders of the sector following the recent spate of terror attacks.

Ya'alon visited the scene of Monday night's shooting attack outside Shvut Rachel in which three people were injured, and one, Malachi Rosenfeld, was fatally wounded, as well as the scene of the attack in Bitin where an Israeli ambulance was shot at. 

He was accompanied by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, commander of the Central Command Gen. Roni Numa, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) chief Major General Yoav Mordechai, and commander of the Judea-Samaria District Brig. Gen. Tamir Yadi.

"We are utilizing considerable intelligence and operating extensively to lay our hands on the terrorists, while also adjusting for the deployment of forces on the ground to break the sequence [of terror attacks - ed.]," Ya'alon stated during the visit. Less than 24 hours earlier, the IDF boosted its presence throughout Judea and Samaria. "We act firmly and decisively, but also are responsible and considerate to restore the sense of security for residents."

"Over the last two weeks these attacks, attacks by Palestinian terrorists, are related to Ramadan," Ya'alon later said during a conference Wednesday night. "Unfortunately, Ramadan is an atmosphere in which the flames are fanned not only against Israel and the Jews, but against the West in general." 

Ya'alon then related to the mass crackdown on Hamas in Judea-Samaria which was revealed by the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) earlier Wednesday. 

"If you look back over the past few months, dozens of terrorists of the terrorist infrastructure, especially of Hamas in Judea and Samaria, were arrested before carrying out attacks, and I know also from experience that we will eventually understand these attacks and get to the terrorists and those who send them," he added.

He also related to Wednesday morning's terror attacks in the Sinai, in which over 50 Egyptian soldiers were reportedly killed by Islamic State's (ISIS) affiliate in the region.

"This morning was the worst terror attack in northern Sinai, in this case an organization associated with ISIS, who attacked camps of the Egyptian security forces in northern Sinai, killing dozens of people. The terrorists there are armed with the best weapons, both in the field and in the field of anti-aircraft tanks. Our hearts are with the Egyptian people and the families of the victims."