Arab terrorists attacked an Israeli bus driving near the village of Funduk in the area of the city of Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria on Tuesday. The bus was damaged from either bullets or slingshot rocks, but there were no injuries.
דיווח על פיגוע ירי לעבר אוטובוס סמוך לכפר פונדוק בשומרון, ברוך השם ללא נפגעים pic.twitter.com/TEL6Ob8Dxs
— בז news (@1717Bazz) August 30, 2022
This attack is the latest in a series in recent weeks, as Israeli security experts are warning that terrorism in the Samaria area has significantly increased in recent months, and is expected to continue to do so.
Terrorists carried out a shooting attack on a security vehicle in the Israeli community of Shavei Shomron on Saturday night. There were no casualties.
On Sunday night, terrorists shot at an IDF military post adjacent to the town of Silwad and at a post near Shechem. There were no Israeli injuries were reported.
Last week, terrorists shot at a bus driving on Route 60 near Silwad.
The IDF has arrested several terrorists amid heavy gun battles and violent resistance from the wanted men.
Kan 11 reported on Tuesday an uptick in the number of shooting attacks in Judea and Samaria since the beginning of the year. About 60 such attacks have occurred since the beginning of 2022, compared to about 50 shooting attacks in all of 2021, 48 in 2020, and 61 in 2019.
So far this year, the security forces have succeeded in thwarting about 220 shooting attacks in Judea and Samaria.
Security officials recognize that the terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip are encouraging the escalation in Judea and Samaria. Part of the funding for the Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist organizations comes directly from Iran.
Tal Lev-Ram, the military commentator for the Maariv daily, told 103fm Radio on Tuesday that “we are seeing more shooting incidents, more terrorist squads that go on attacks and are ready to confront IDF forces, mainly around Jenin and Shechem. This is an expression of the fact that the Palestinian security mechanisms are collapsing, and this will accompany us in the coming months as well.”
Israeli analyst Yoni Ben Menachem, of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), reported last week that there are “alarming signs of security escalation” in Judea and Samaria and Iran is pushing the Islamic Jihad to try and take over the Samaria area, especially around Jenin.
Over the past year, the Islamic Jihad organization, under Iran’s guidance, has been working to establish an independent territory that will not be subject to the power of the Palestinian Authority.
In the city of Jenin and in the neighboring villages, there are already several hundred armed terrorists, thousands of weapons, and large quantities of ammunition. The Islamic Jihad managed to push the PA completely out of the Jenin area and established a new military framework called the “Jenin Battalion” which also includes armed activists from other groups such as Fatah’s “al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades” and Hamas.
This framework began to spread towards the areas of Shechem and Tulkarem and carried out shooting attacks against IDF forces and Israeli civilians.
