Hamas, the terror group that controls Gaza, will “no doubt” try to carry out terror attacks over the upcoming Passover holiday, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency warned this week.
“We are just before the Passover holiday, and there is no doubt that terrorist infrastructures, mostly the established ones, and specifically Hamas, will try to agitate the area and carry out attacks,” Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman said.
“Our goal, of course, is to ensure quiet holidays for every citizen of the State of Israel,” he added.
Speaking at the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Argaman said Israel is in a period of “deceptive calm.”
While the country may be experiencing this relative state of calm, Argaman reassured the Knesset that Israel’s security experts were busy behind the scenes.
According to Argaman, the Shin Bet has developed “new tactics” to combat the lone wolf attackers, leading to 400 would-be terrorists being arrested before they carried out their attacks, stemming the flow of violence on Israel’s streets.
In recent weeks the Shin Bet has discovered terrorist cells affiliated with the al-Aqsa brigades, the militant branch of Fatah. And in February the agency blew the lid off a Hamas-affiliated cell comprised of university students in the West Bank. They also uncovered an arms manufacturing network last month, arresting nine people and seizing hundreds of firearms.