The Israeli military's annual review shows a record number of terror activity that emanated from the West Bank in 2022.
According to the report, 285 shooting attacks occurred in the West Bank over the past year, compared to 61 in 2021 and 31 in 2020. Some 31 people lost their lives in Palestinian terror attacks in 2022.
In order to tackle the growing trend of violence in the West Bank, 41 reserve battalions were called up this year, and the number is expected to increase in 2023.
Far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir is set claim authority over 16 Border Police companies in the West Bank, which were previously under IDF's responsibility, as part of his position as public security minister.
This reform will require the IDF to reinforce its presence in the region, following a year in which it already was employing thousands of reserves from 41 battalions through emergency drafts to maintain order.
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Concrete block bearing posters depicting far-right Israeli MK Itamar Ben Gvir in the West Bank city of Hebron
(Photo: i24NEWS)
Not including the additions that will have to be made after Ben-Gvir's policies are put in place, the upcoming year is set to see at least 66 reserve battalions being called up to the West Bank. Aside from reinforcing the security in the area, the reserves would allow for the active duty soldiers to train and prepare for conflicts on other fronts.
Throughout 2022, NIS 2.8 million of terror money was confiscated in the territory of the Palestinian Authority, as opposed to 11.3 million in 2021.
Additionally, 2,672 Palestinians were arrested by security forces, in comparison to 2,800 in 2021 and 2,000 and 2020.
Among the 31 Israelis who lost their lives to Palestinian terrorism, 24 of them were civilians, in comparison to four civilian deaths in 2021 and three in 2020.
This year, the IDF worked to fix and secure 16 of the 700 kilometers of the perimeter fence around the West Bank, at a cost of NIS 40 million.
In the coming months, this project is expected to expand to an additional 40 kilometers and monitors are set to be installed into the fence, which will reduce the number of troops necessary to guard it.
In addition, in 2022 the IDF managed to reduce the number of illegal entrances to Israel, from some 80,000 weekly to only several hundreds.
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An IDF soldier stands guard near a gap in the partition fence near Hebron
(Photo: AFP)
On the Gazan front, however, things have been much quieter this year.
The IDF attacked 257 targets in the Hamas-controlled enclave throughout 2022, most of which were during last Gaza war, dubbed Operation Breaking Dawn, in August.
According to the IDF data, the number of rockets that were launched from Gaza in the months following Operation Breaking Dawn stands at only three - a record low number in comparison to periods following similar operations in the past.