May was the most violent month since October 2015, with Palestinians carrying out 365 attacks.

By: United with Israel Staff

The month of May saw a significant increase in the number of Palestinian terrorist attacks, becoming the most violent month in two and a half years.

According to data released by the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency), Palestinian terrorists carried out 365 attacks during May, including 271 firebomb attacks, compared to 223 in April.

In Judea and Samaria, 139 attacks were executed in May, up from April’s 83. Jerusalem experienced 34 attacks, compared to 22 in the preceding month. Finally, 192 attacks originated in the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula in May, including 118 firebomb attacks.

IDF soldier Ronen Lubarsky, of the elite Duvedevan undercover unit, was killed in action, and five people were injured by terrorist activity in May 2018.

Lubarsky was killed by a marble slab thrown at him in a Palestinian community on 24 May. One member of the security forces was injured by a pipe bomb in Abu Dis on May 9. Four people, one civilian and three security personnel, suffered injuries caused by rocket fire near Sufa on May 29.

In May 2018, Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists launched 45 barrages at Israel’s south, consisting of a total of 188 explosive projectiles fired at Israeli civilian targets, the worst bombing since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014. No such attacks had taken place in April.

May’s violence was the worst since October 2015, when the Shin Bet recorded 620 attacks against Israelis.

It is of significance to note that these numbers do not include the daily Palestinian rock attacks on Israelis, attacks that have a potential to kill.

Earlier this month, the Shin Bet stated that it had detected and thwarted approximately 250 large-scale terrorist cells since the start of 2018 alone, giving an indication of the scale of violence and destruction it has saved Israel’s civilians from.

The Shin Bet thwarted a complex network of Hamas bomb-makers and would-be suicide bombers who planned to target Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with terror attacks, some of which were stopped just before they were scheduled to begin. Commenting on the operation, the Shin Bet stated that the elaborate cell illustrated “the motivation and efforts invested by the Hamas organization in setting up a terrorist infrastructure.”