Israeli forces thwarted 29 major terror attacks, hundreds of smaller attacks, in 2015

Hamas is demonstrating a high level of sophistication and motivation in its planning of devastating attacks against Israelis.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) have thwarted 17 complex suicide terrorist attacks and 12 plots to kidnap Israelis that were in advanced stages of preparation over the course of 2015, Israel’s IDF Radio reported on Tuesday.

Most of the attacks were planned by the Hamas terror organization, and were directed by their headquarters in Gaza and abroad.

The attacks would have entailed mass explosions, which included one or more suicide bombers who would detonate their deadly charges in crowded areas. In some of the cases, the explosive belts were already made, and all plots were in advanced stages of preparation and of a massive lethal potential.

Hundreds of shooting and other attacks were thwarted as well.

IDF Radio pointed out that Israeli security forces thwart a high volume of terrorist plots every year, but what is disturbing in these cases is the high level of preparedness and the motivation the terror cells exhibited, indicating that Hamas seeks to escalate the situation.

According to the report, Hamas aspires to execute a mass attack that would significantly escalate the security situation, while working to destabilize the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) governance in Judea and Samaria.

IDF forces have repeatedly trained for a possible escalation in the violence that has been plaguing Israel for the past six months and which has claimed the lives of 31 victims.

It is also closely monitoring Hamas’ military buildup in Gaza, in preparation for another round of violence against Israel.