A senior officer in the IDF Central Command said that hundreds of terrorist attacks have been thwarted in Judea and Samaria over the past year, and that there has been increase in the number of radical Islamic attacks.
According to the officer the main threat in the region are shootings. The officer added that in the 15 months since the start of the wave of most recent terrorism in October, 2015, there have been 281 recorded attacks across the country coming out of Judea and Samaria. Six Israelis were killed in those attacks, compared to 13 fatalities from terror attacks in 2015.
In the past month the number of rock throwing attacks against Israeli vehicles in Judea and Samaria has increased. There were 800 such attacks in the second half of 2016. According to the IDF, this was the lowest number of stone throwing attacks in Judea and Samaria in a decade.
The officer added that the IDF demolished about 40 homes and arrested about 3,400 people in Judea and Samaria in 2016.
More than 1,500 security cameras have been deployed on the roads in Judea and Samaria, drones have been deployed, and cellular towers have been constructed to provide up-to-date intelligence on the security situation.
The officer refused to speculate when asked by reporters whether the proposed changes in policy by the Trump Administration, such as moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, could inflame the situation in Judea and Samaria. He also stated that the verdict in the trial of Elor Azariya earlier this month has had no effect on the performance of the IDF soldiers stationed in Judea and Samaria. He expressed his hope that residents of Amona would evacuate their homes peacefully on February 8, but stated that the IDF was prepared for any possibility.