More Than 1,000 Terror Attacks in West Bank and Jerusalem Thwarted in 2024

Latest Developments

Shin Bet Discloses Increase in Thwarted Attempts, Decrease in Realized Terror Attacks: Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, prevented 1,040 significant terror attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem during 2024, according to a report released in Hebrew. Further, the number of completed terrorist attacks in 2024 fell 44 percent from 2023 — the year that witnessed the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history with the Hamas massacre of October 7. The report warns of the rising terror levels originating from the West Bank since 2021 and details how 13 threats were so severe as to require airstrikes. The overall number of thwarted attacks during 2024 closely matched the 2023 overall number of 1,032 but marks a significant increase from 472 prevented attacks in 2022 and 351 in 2021.
Thwarted Attacks Mostly Involved Firearms and Explosives: The Shin Bet’s 2024 report also lists the intended means of each prevented terror attack. Out of the 1,040 planned attacks, 689 utilized firearms, 326 involved explosive devices, 13 were stabbings, nine were car-ramming attacks, two were suicide attacks, and one was an attempted kidnapping. Despite Israel’s efforts, 46 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed by terror attacks in 2024 and 337 were injured.
Iranian Espionage Threat High in 2024: In addition to domestic data, the Shin Bet also reported that threats from Iran grew in 2024 on multiple fronts, including an increase in cyberattacks and attempts to smuggle weapons into the West Bank. Additionally, the Shin Bet thwarted 13 cases of “serious espionage” by Israelis working on behalf of Iranian intelligence, arresting 37 individuals in a 400 percent increase in detainees from 2023.

FDD Expert Response

“Iran has markedly intensified its operations within Israeli territory, a trend reflected in the Shin Bet’s report. Alarmingly, Iran has achieved some success in recruiting Israeli citizens to execute various tasks on its behalf. Alongside these efforts, Iran is actively working to destabilize the West Bank by smuggling arms into the territory, which further underscores its commitment to orchestrating acts of violence against Israel.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“The unrest and lawlessness in the West Bank do not yet represent the sort of violence seen during the Second Intifada, but the trends are worrying, with the number of significant terror attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank skyrocketing in 2023 and numbering over 1,000 attempted terror attacks in 2024 alone. Until now, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has been unable or unwilling to clamp down on the violence. The PA must build upon its West Bank counterterrorism operations of recent weeks and demonstrate that it can prevent terrorist organizations from taking over and launching attacks from areas which it governs.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“In a year in which Israel’s security apparatus was stretched by a multifront war, Israeli security forces still reduced the number of successful terror attacks by nearly half. Counterterrorism officials would do well to consult their Israeli counterparts and learn best practices for protecting their own civilians, on both the operational and the intelligence fronts, especially after the year opened with an ISIS-inspired attack in New Orleans.” — Aaron Goren, Research Analyst and Editor