Sharp increase in Arab violence in 2021

After a few years of relative calm, the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria have encountered a significant upswing in terrorist incidents in the past year.

According to the annual report published by the IDF in late December, 2021 saw 6,633 terrorist incidents targeting IDF soldiers and Israeli residents in Judea and Samaria, an average of 18 terrorist incidents per day. These incidents include 5,322 stone-throwing incidents, 1,022 firebombs, 61 shooting incidents and 18 stabbing incidents.

The data in the report point to a significant upward trend in stone-throwing and firebombing incidents – 38% and 36% more than in 2020 – and twice as many stabbing incidents as in 2020.

The report also points to an increase in shooting incidents, with 33 shooting incidents in the area in 2018, and about twice as many in 2021, with 61 shooting incidents.

While the IDF data reported here are reliable and verified, there are many attacks that are not included in the IDF report, such as incidents involving the hurling of stones and firebombs, which are often only reported to local hotlines or not reported at all.

The report also points to another important occurrence in 2021, an increase in hostile terrorist events (HTA). According to the data, last year broke previous records in terms of terrorist incidents over the past five years. In addition to the 29 serious incidents that occurred during Operation Guardian of the Walls, there has been an ongoing overall increase in the number of incidents. “Hostile terrorist events” include events not included in the statistics presented in the previous paragraph, such as attempts to harm civilians, as well as attacks on soldiers not involved in operational activity inside the villages, attacks on IDF forces on the roads, car-ramming incidents of people waiting at bus stops, terrorist-motivated robberies and so on.

The data point to an increase in Arab violence. Attempts by the left to downplay this violence distort reality and ultimately undermine the security of individuals on the ground.

Further to the increase in incidents, according to reports from residents of the area, there has also been an increase in the perpetrators’ audaciousness. Some do not bother to hide and act openly without fear. Israel’s deterrence where the Arabs in Judea and Samaria are concerned has decreased.

The first operative step should be to change the IDF’s policy – every single incident involving stone throwing should be treated with full seriousness and responded to, even if there are no casualties or damage as a result of the incident. Perpetrators should be pursued and dealt with in every case and event. These measures are crucial, along with reinforcing the presence of security forces, including army and police in the area.

The residents of Judea and Samaria are entitled to security and freedom of movement in the area, and should not have to contend with violent attacks and terrorism by Arabs as is currently the case.

Israel’s government and political leaders must be fully cognizant of the alarming state of affairs that emerges from the IDF report and make dealing with Arab violence targeting the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria and IDF soldiers their top priority.

Judea and Samaria Sector