September terror attacks against Israelis dip to five-year low

Israeli troops conducted multiple house raids and imposed a closure on the West Bank during the risk-prone Jewish holidays period.

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(JTA) — Israel’s domestic security agency recorded 103 attacks against Israelis in September, the lowest tally in five years for a month considered especially tense because of the many Jewish holidays.

The figure for September, published last week by the Israel Security Agency in its monthly report, is 25 percent lower than the average for September attacks in the years 2012-16.

The attacks resulted in the slaying of three Israelis.

Israeli security services consider September and October months with elevated risk of attacks because the Jewish holidays motivate Palestinian terrorists and their groups to carry out attacks.

As in previous years, Israel closed its border crossings from the West Bank to Palestinians for the holiday period as a precaution. Also, Israel intensified preventive actions, including house searches and detainment of suspects. Earlier this week, 32 suspects were detained in a single raid by Israeli military forces across the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.

Earlier this week, Israeli troops raided Palestinian media outlets accused of inciting hatred, including ones affiliated with Hamas. In Hebron, the forces raided Hamas’ al-Quds TV and al-Aqsa TV stations, as well as the offices of Palestine Today, Transmedia and Palmedia, and confiscated equipment.

In Nablus, Israeli forces raided the Transmedia and Palmedia offices and confiscated the equipment before closing the offices with a six-month military order, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.

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