September 9, 2004

Anti-terrorist struggle : Facts and Figures

The recent double-suicide bombing in Be'er Sheva (31 August 2004)
reaffirms Israel's claim that the relative quiet of the last few months was not due to the terrorist organizations' loss of their desire or motivation to carry out attacks, but rather thanks to two types of actions taken by Israel:

A. The anti-terrorist fence, which has proven its efficacy in the sections where it has been completed (the northern section) by saving many Israeli lives.

B. The intensive, ongoing activities of the security forces to prevent terrorism, in the absence of any cooperation or comparable effort on the part of the Palestinian Authority.

The following facts and figures demonstrate the preventive actions of the security forces:

1. From January through August this year, 205 would-be suicide bombers were arrested, 193 of them before they even started out on their missions. Twelve were intercepted on their way to carry out attacks.

2. In the past year, 80-100 terrorists have been killed during confrontations with security forces. Dozens of attacks were thwarted in various stages of planning or implementation.

3. Security forces receive and respond to dozens of warnings every day (40-50 a day over the past few weeks).

4. Since the beginning of Operation Defensive Shield, 6,207 terrorists have been taken out of action: 5,275 of them have been arrested and questioned; 932 of them were killed.

5. From January through 23 August, the General Security Service has questioned 1,407 suspects.

6. Lately, security forces have arrested more than 100 suspects a week.