IDF preparing for escalation in terror activities
Following weekend which included attempted attack in settlement, hurling of
Molotov cocktails, Arab running over police officers and Palestinian killed
in anti-fence riot, defense officials conclude Israel must be ready for
radical developments
Hanan Greenberg YNET Published: 04.19.09, 07:33 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3702927,00.html

The defense establishment is monitoring the rise in the number of terror
attacks taking place in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem in the past
few weeks, and security officials admit that although there is no common
denominator or "guiding hand", this trend must be addressed with extra
caution in order to be prepared for more radical developments.

A defense official told Ynet on Saturday night, "We see many actions in the
outline of 'popular terror', which are seemingly insignificant, but this
situation may point to distress and frustration among the Palestinians, and
we must ensure constantly that things do not develop in undesired
directions."

According to the source, a distinction must be made between the hundreds of
acts of terror which took place during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip
and the reality after the Israeli offensive.

Data collected by the defense establishment show that 50 terror attacks of
various types were counted in January. February saw 124 terror attacks take
place, including the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip, while March saw
132 such incidents.

A slight increase in the number of incidents has been recorded compared to
previous years, but the IDF is particularly examining the sequence.

In terms of the Gaza Strip, military officials say, Hamas is not acting very
effectively these days, with one of the reasons for this being the results
of Operation Cast Lead. However, the Palestinian organization is engaged in
renewing its power, both in terms of activists and by stockpiling weapons.

'Terror activists waking up'
The Israel Defense Forces is cautiously examining the situation in the West
Bank in light of the fact that the many incidents which took place there are
unlinked to each other and are not executed following instructions issued by
a "guiding hand".

"We are well familiar with the popular terror, from previous years as well.
It mostly constitutes a high percentage of all the incidents in the entire
region. Although these are not major incidents, we must constantly examine
what motivates what is happening," the source explained.

The defense official added that "it's too early to reach conclusions on what
has happened in recent weeks, but we can definitely say that terror
activists are waking up, not necessarily the senior ones and not necessarily
incidents which were planned in an organized manner."

IDF officials note that the current wave of attacks may end soon, but are
also preparing for an escalation, particularly in light of the fact that
such acts of terror are more difficult to thwart, as they are mostly the
result of a spontaneous organization by assailants acting alone.

"Our main goal is to prevent escalation," added the source. "Any incident
may lead to additional incidents, which may be followed by an escalation,
and therefore were examining this situation with extra caution."