The Israeli public isn't aware of even a fraction of the ongoing counterterror activity in Judea and Samaria. Unless it entails something particularly dramatic, the media isn't interested in it, and there is no drama unless people are wounded or killed in terrorist attacks. This is the essence of the Israeli security paradox: the people take successes for granted, and act as if failures are the end of the world.
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But both are part of the Sisyphean work that goes on every day – every night, mostly – on every front, especially in the West Bank. After Operation Guardian of the Walls, it was termed "cutting the grass": continuous actions whose purpose is to "mow down" terrorist operatives to ensure that they won't carry out attacks. This method, whose two main elements are superior intelligence and full freedom to operate, have proved themselves since May. It is also the reason why the level of terrorist attacks has remained very low in recent years and Israelis live in much greater security than they did in the past.
But these counterterror successes aren't a guarantee of safety. The other side, mainly Hamas, is constantly working to execute terrorist attacks. Our past experience has taught us that this activity is propelled by three main areas of command and funding: the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip; the Hamas international command, which is based alternately in Turkey and in Lebanon; and the terrorist inmates of Israel's prisons. These three points are in close contact, and also very similar. Hamas in Gaza is led by Yahya Sinwar, who was released by Israel in the trade for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, as was Salah al-Arouri, who heads the organization's international command. Sinwar and Arouri have an identical goal – to free their friends who are still in prison.
It's no wonder, therefore, that the plans exposed in Judea and Samaria included the abduction of Israelis to use as bargaining chips. The plot was a fairly extensive one that also entailed a series of increasingly damaging terrorist attacks that would shock Israel. The size of the organizational effort allowed it to make big plans, but also turned out to be its Achilles heel – the more people are in on a secret, the greater the chance of it being discovered.
The Shin Bet security agency leads the world in identifying and thwarting plans like these, and the latest scheme didn't avoid the Shin Bet radar, either. The first arrests took place more than a week ago. When those detainees were questions, they revealed the full extent of the plans, which led to Saturday night's coordinated arrest operations. Actions were carried out at five multiple targets simultaneously to keep any of the fugitives from realizing that time was up and rushing to carry out an attack prior to being arrested.
As always, arrests of this type might take place during an exchange of fire. That's part of the operational danger, so missions like these are usually entrusted to the most highly-skilled units – the Israel Police and Border Police counterterror units, and the IDF's Duvdevan Unit. The fact that two Duvdevan fighters, a commander and a soldier, were wounded in the operation, apparently by friendly fire, demands an in-depth probe. A unit like that, with a painful history of friendly fire incidents, should be demonstrating more professionalism during actions that are its bread and butter.
We can assume that after the fugitives arrested are interrogated, Israel will publish an account of the full plot. As we know, it included shooting attacks and kidnappings. At this stage, this plot looks more serious than some other recent ones, so Israel will have to use its exposure to underscore the double game Hamas is playing – holding truce talks in Cairo and keeping things quiet in the Gaza Strip while at the same time make every possible effort to execute terrorist attacks from Judea and Samaria.
It's likely that Hamas is now itching to respond to the deaths of a few of its people during the arrests by firing rockets from Gaza, but by doing so, it would connect the terrorist plot exposed in the West Bank, and allow Israel to carry out retaliatory strike sin Gaza, which would naturally be fairly severe. The group understands this, and therefore has called on residents of Judea and Samaria not to respond, so as to avoid putting Gaza in danger.
But Hamas is the one putting the Gaza Strip at risk. Just like the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in June 2014 led directly to Operation Protective Edge, a successful terrorist attack of the type thwarted overnight Saturday wouldn't end in Judea and Samaria, but would have to entail another round of hostilities with Gaza. So there is much more importance to thwarting these planned terrorist attacks than what appears obvious. Not only do the interventions save lives and offer Israelis security, they also prevent a rapid deterioration in the level of security that saves many more lives and allows long-term deterrence.
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