Palestinian ‘Nightmare’ in the West Bank: Resistance Attacks ‘So Out of Israeli Control’

Four resistance operations took place 2 days in this week across the occupied West Bank, causing Israeli casualties and raising concerns among both Israeli security and defense establishments.

The first operation was a car-ramming attack in the city of Al-Khalil (Hebron) on Wednesday, followed by a stabbing attack in occupied Al-Quds. In a significant event late Wednesday, an explosive device exploded by the occupation forces in the city of Nablus, wounding an officer and three soldiers. Then on Thursday, another car-ramming attack near Ramallah killed an Israeli soldier and injured five others.

Commenting on Thursday’s operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Another hard morning in Israel,” while Israeli minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich said: “Every day we bury Israelis. We must change this fate.”

“A bloody day, full of fear in Israel: Car ramming, stabbing, throwing stones and explosive devices,” Israeli Channel 14 described the resistance operations.

The Palestinian attacks in the last two days were just a sample of the pace of resistance acts across the West Bank. According to fresh figures provided by the Times of Israel, which cited the Israeli defense establishment on Thursday, occupation security forces have carried out more than 2,000 arrest operations in the West Bank and ‘foiled’ more than 470 attacks since the beginning of 2023.

Implications of Escalation

For the Israeli security establishment, the danger of car-ramming operations, which indicates development of the performance of Palestinian attackers, in terms of their competence, good planning, and precise implementation, is no less than the danger of the explosive devices, Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on Friday.

In an article, journalist Ahmad Al-Abed considered that the IEDs have become on top of the Israeli security establishment’s list of concerns, due to their implications, especially regarding the growing capabilities of the Palestinian resistance.

Just like the previous explosive devices which were detonated in Jenin and Nour Shams camps, the Nablus bomb received great attention in Israeli circles, Al-Abed wrote, as he cited Israeli reports that the bomb contained unusual or rarely used explosive materials.