The murder of three Israeli teenagers—Gil-Ad Shaar,  Naftali Fraenkel (both 16) and Eyal Yifrah (19)—by Hamas terrorists was just the latest in some three thousand attacks during the past two years comprising of rockets, bombings, shootings, knifings, firebombs and rock attacks.

Analysts believe these figures will only rise as Hamas continues to gain power in the West Bank.

In 2013, Israeli security forces prevented 190 major terror attacks (52 kidnapping attempts), most of them from the West Bank, compared to 112 in 2012.

The ongoing Israeli operation in the West Bank exposing Hamas terror cells is shedding light on the organization’s activity.

Via instructions from the Gaza Strip, operatives are attempting to establish new terror cells of suicide bombers and gunmen or to initiate kidnappings, according to The Israel Project’s Defense Analyst Stephane Cohen.

Sometimes the instructions come from abroad, as happened for example with the recruiting process of Fadi Abu Daoud, a resident of Hebron who used to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet and receive instructions from Khaled Taha, a Hamas operative who was released in the Gilad Shalit deal. In 2013, the IDF exposed Hamas operatives’ intentions to build and fire rockets into Israeli communities from the West Bank.

Last year, reports pointed out that Palestinians from Syria (affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command) planned to smuggle weapons such as anti-tank missiles, surface-to-air missiles and assault rifles to Hebron in the West Bank via Jordan. These smugglers were arrested by the Jordanian authorities.

Palestinian clans in Hebron are known to be strongly affiliated with Hamas, and the organization is also active in Palestinian refugee camps in Ramallah, Nablus, Jenin and Jerusalem.

Activities in Jerusalem allow Hamas to secret explosives into Israel for bomb or suicide attacks, said Cohen.

[Photo: The Israel Project / flickr]