The situation in the West Bank is ‘fragile,’ says Israeli security chief

The head of Israel’s internal security agency, Nadav Argaman, described on Sunday the situation in the occupied West Bank as “fragile” and said that it could “explode” at any time, Safa agency has reported. The Shin Bet chief told the weekly Cabinet meeting that the agency has disrupted around 200 “terrorist plots” by Palestinians since the start of this year, including suicide bombings, kidnappings and gun attacks.

“Shin Bet has uncovered 70 local Palestinian cells during the past two months alone,” explained Argaman. “They planned to carry out attacks at different levels.”

The security head also claimed that the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has worked during the past year to identify new targets and planned to carry out attacks launched from the West Bank. He gave no details about the intended targets and the nature of the alleged attacks.

In Gaza, said Argaman, Hamas is ready for a new round of fighting. The current calm in the territory, he insisted, is “deceptive”, because Hamas has been investing a lot of resources in preparation for the next confrontation with Israel.

Read: Hamas’ regional standing

“Hamas has recently reinforced its relations with the Shia axis in the region, mainly Lebanon,” the Shin Bet chief alleged. “It has been deepening its strategic relations with the bloc led by Iran and been building up its presence in Lebanon under Iranian patronage.”

While speaking about Gaza, Argaman mentioned the economic crisis and lack of electricity and fresh water, as well as salary issues and the delay of reconstruction works affecting the Palestinians in the enclave.