Security cabinet meets amid terror wave, hints at strikes against Iran and Hamas

Israel's security cabinet met in Jerusalem on Tuesday, after the meeting was brought forward from next week amid the rising wave of terror attacks in recent days.

The cabinet released a statement following the meeting that it had“made a series of decisions to strike at the terrorists and whoever dispatches them and authorized the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to act accordingly.”

Following the Monday terror attack near Hebron, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pointed an accusing finger at Iran, suggesting that the regime was funding the recent terror attacks, which are then carried out by its proxy organizations.

“This is why we have seen an increase in terror attacks,” Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi told Army Radio before the cabinet meeting.

Hanegbi added that Iran continues to finance its proxies to act against Israel, partly out of frustration for its failure to push back against Israel’s policy of attacking Iranian military targets in Syria.

During the cabinet meeting, Gallant and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir once again fought over the appropriate policy to fight terrorism, according to local news reports.

Ben Gvir demanded to set up more roadblocks along the roads in Judea and Samaria, where about one-third of the recent terror attacks have taken place. He also demanded a return to the policy of targeted assassinations of terrorists, as well as to worsen the conditions of incarcerated terrorists.

Gallant believes that increasing the friction could lead to more terror.

Ben Gvir reportedly answered: “I feel like I’m in a movie. People were murdered… and you are constantly talking about the danger of friction and the danger of [Jewish] nationalist crime. Are we crazy? I'm starting to think we're in Switzerland if this is our only problem… We need to come up with operative measures... and not deal with nonsense.”

The cabinet also expressed its support for “the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and the personnel of the security services in their actions against terrorist elements.”

Some believe this may be a sign of Netanyahu's ongoing efforts to lower the flames of the conflict between elements within in his government coalition and the security services.