Barak Admits Terror Wave in Judea and Samaria

by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minister Ehud Barak admitted Monday that a terror wave has hit Judea and Samaria in recent days.

Speaking to his faction in the presence of reporters, Barak said: Last Thursday Rabbi Meir Chai was murdered, may Hashem avenge his blood, on the road to Shavei Shomron. He left behind seven orphans. A severe and painful terror attack. In swift action by the Shin Bet and the IDF the three murderers responsible for the attack were eliminated. Yesterday there was another attack in which a fire bomb was thrown at a bus near Negohot.”

“We definitely see, over the last two or three days, an awakening of terror activity in Judea and Samaria,” he said, “and I hope that we will be able to rein in this wave. We are nearing the end of 2009 a few days from now, and it has been one of the quietest years, on all fronts, yet we begin 2010 with the possibility that despite the quiet, there could be intense activity.”

“Israel is strong and very deterring, but everyone’s working hypothesis is that a confrontation is possible, and we must not ignore the realness of the threat, alongside with the quiet. A large terror event, no matter what its source, could cause the quiet to be replaced by a forceful confrontation with Hizbullah or Hamas or both of them.”