\’Israel sees no sign that terror wave subsiding, IDF prepared for escalation\’

 

\’Unfortunately there is no signs of this wave of terrorism waning," Ya\’alon said before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "We are using every means at our disposal to stop the violence, but the IDF is prepared for the possibility of escalation."

 

Ya\’alon added during the meeting that Israel\’s shared northern border with Lebanon was relatively silent.

 

The defense minister later said at an IDF event that the ongoing Palestinian terrorism and incitement to violence threaten the survivability of the Palestinian Authority. 

 

During a visit to the IDF Induction Center at Tel Hashomer to mark the November draft cycle, Ya\’alon told reporters "that there is hardly a day without a terror attack." He added, "First of all I hope that the Palestinian Authority gets a grip on itself, and beyond the steps it has taken in recent days to take control of rioting on the ground, it will start condemning the attacks, and cease the blood libels, according to which we allegedly are executing those we kill with a knife in their hands, and they claim we plant the knife afterwards." 

 

Palestinian incitement is continuing, Ya\’alon said, "and I hope they start condemning these attacks. It threatens them [the PA] and the survivability of the Authority more than us. In the meantime, we are continuing to take many steps. Our beefed up forces are working day and night, carrying out arrests in certain areas, and when an attack occurs, the place where it came from is closed; the village or the neighborhood. Homes are prepared for demolition." 

 

Asked about Russia\’s recent deployment of the advanced S-400 surface to air missile system in northwest Syria, Ya\’alon said Russia\’s fighter jets and missile systems are "not directed against us" and do no threaten Israel\’s freedom of aerial operations.

 

"We act according to our interests; one does not interfere with the other," he said.