Between March and May 2022, terrorists primarily from the West Bank carried out a series of attacks in Israel, murdering 19 people. In response, the IDF has carried out near-nightly raids into the West Bank. This has caused friction between the IDF and the Palestinian population. However, without these operations, West Bank security could very well have deteriorated further. Israeli security forces have arrested more than 2,000 terrorists and disrupted dozens of attacks.
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The PA’s weakness in the West Bank partly stems from a number of factors. One is a lack of legitimacy, thanks to the refusal of PA President Mahmoud Abbas to either leave office or allow for political reforms. The regime in Iran is also working to weaken the PA through terrorist proxies. Specifically, Hamas and Islamic Jihad seek to destabilize the West Bank as part of a broader bid to create a more chaotic environment in anticipation of a succession crisis whenever Abbas eventually departs the scene. Iran-backed militants groups have established a joint operations room in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, to respond to IDF incursions. This fusion center enables terrorists from different (and sometimes competing) factions to fight the IDF together.

As terror attacks and IDF operations continue, FDD is tracking the known incidents of violence and analyzing their impact.