BICOM

The head of Israel’s national security agency, the Shin Bet, said his agency has prevented 480 terrorist attacks over the past year.

Nadav Argaman told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that the situation in Gaza is “on the verge of a conflict” despite efforts to stabilise humanitarian suffering. Argaman said the relative calm in the West Bank is “deceptive” and that “the ground is very combustible”. He added that Hamas is trying “with all its might to carry out terrorist attacks [from the West bank] with guidance from the Gaza Strip, Turkey and Lebanon”. Argaman said the Shin Bet broke up 219 Hamas cell in the West bank and prevented 590 lone-wolf terrorists in the process. “In addition, we were able in the last year to thwart cyber attacks—both terrorism and espionage—against the State of Israel.”

He said his agency has prevented more than 480 attacks over the past year, including 280 shootings, 76 bombings, six suicide bombings and seven kidnap plots. “In addition, we were able in the last year to thwart cyber attacks—both terrorism and espionage—against the State of Israel,” he said.

The Shin Bet uses a variety of methods to catch lone wolf terrorists, including psychological profiling, monitoring suspects’ social media accounts and also building algorithms that takes into account potential suspects’ family connections to known terrorists.

When asked about a bill to be discussed in the Knesset next week that would impose the death penalty on those convicted of terrorist offences, Argaman said: “I unequivocally oppose the death penalty for terrorists — it’s not helpful.”

Argaman has recently been serving as a liaison between the Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. They last met two weeks ago in Ramallah to discuss security coordination and the ongoing violence in Gaza. Channel 2 News reported that Abbas rejected Israel’s offer to set up a joint industrial area and open a gas production site off the Gaza coast. In October the Palestinian Central Council voted to suspend recognition of Israel and to end all security cooperation. Both require the approval of President Abbas, who has yet to decide whether or not to implement the decisions.