On Tuesday, during a visit to the site where Eitam and Naama Henkin were murdered recently by Arab terrorists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to beef up security in the embattled region, describing a plan to put cameras on every road in Judea and Samaria and set aerial surveillance on all major thoroughfares in the areas.
Last week, Palestinian terror claimed four Israeli lives in three days. Netanyahu’s visit came amid worries that the groundswell of terror is giving way to a third intifada. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot.
“The focus of this visit was on active defense of the roads,” Netanyahu said, adding that “a large portion of the attacks take place on the roads.”
He said that the enhanced surveillance, along with the ability for quick response, can “significantly” improve Israel’s ability to both thwart attacks and apprehend the perpetrators.
“This is a very, very important component in bringing back security,” he said. “Israel needs to work aggressively against the terrorists, rioters and inciters.”
The cameras will be linked to local IDF command centers, allowing a quicker response time for the military, catching perpetrators in the act, and preventing future attacks. A similar system already exists in certain areas of Judaea and Samaria, but the cameras are strategically positioned in areas that have already shown a tendency to be hotspots of violence in the past.
The establishment of the cameras is the latest in a series of steps that the Netanyahu government has taken to slow down the wave of Palestinian terror that is spreading across the Israeli heartland. On Sunday, the prime minister ordered extra counter-terrorism measures to be implemented to deter future would-be-terrorists. These measures include the expedited destruction of perpetrators’ homes, the extension of administrative detention for offenders, additional security forces in Jerusalem, Judaea and Samaria and the limiting of Palestinian access to the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
