Two very interesting news articles

Shin Bet data shows dramatic drop in 2007 terror fatalities

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent


Thirteen Israelis were killed by Palestinians in 2007, the lowest number in years, according to data released yesterday by the Shin Bet security service.

The fatality figures for 2006 and 2005 were 24 and 50, respectively.

Moreover, there was only one successful suicide bombing last year, down from six in 2006 and 60 during the intifada's worst year, 2002. That bombing, in Eilat last January, killed three people.

According to the Shin Bet, the sharp decline in terror stemmed not from a drop in the terrorists' motivation, but from Israel's success in foiling attacks. This success is based on three elements: the separation fence, superb intelligence, and the Israel Defense Forces' almost complete freedom of action in the West Bank.

The data show "as close as possible to a victory over terror," a senior defense official told Haaretz. "The IDF and Shin Bet succeeded in thwarting suicide terror, reducing it to a tolerable level."

In contrast to the sharp decline in suicide bombings, however, rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza continued apace. In total, Palestinians fired 1,263 rockets and 1,511 mortar shells at southern Israel last year, compared with 1,722 rockets and 55 mortars in 2006. Rocket attacks accounted for two of last year's fatalities, both in Sderot.

The Shin Bet estimates that 80 tons of explosives have been smuggled into Gaza since Hamas ousted Fatah in the strip last June, and that Hezbollah funnels $10 million a year to Palestinian terror groups.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/940526.html


and


Study: Number of Palestinians killed by IDF dropped 43% in '07

By Avi Issacharoff



The number of Palestinians killed by the Israel Defense Forces in 2007 decreased by 43 percent since last year, to 373, but the total number of Palestinians killed this year reached a record high because of the 344 Palestinians killed in the internecine conflict, the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said in its year-end report.

The report also found a significant drop in the proportion of civilians killed, which decreased from 54 percent of the 657 Palestinians killed by IDF fire in 2006 to 35 percent of the 373 Palestinians killed between January 1 and December 29 of this year.

Fifty-three of the Palestinians were minors and the vast majority - 270 - were killed in the Gaza Strip.

In addition, seven Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinian fire in 2007 - the lowest number since the second intifada began.

Civilians killed

Three of the civilians were killed in a suicide bombing in Eilat, two by a Qassam rocket in Sderot and two in a shooting attack in the West Bank, while six Israeli security personnel were killed by Palestinian fire this year. In contrast, 17 Israeli civilians were killed in 2006, according to B'Tselem.

The organization also found that the settler population grew by 4.5 percent this year, far exceeding population growth but showing a lower rate of growth than last year, when the settler population increased by 5.8 percent.

There are 36 manned roadblocks in the West Bank that are along the Green Line, and another 66 that are not, B'Tselem found. It said the number of unmanned roadblocks, such as heaps of dirt or cement blocks blocking the entrance to villages, increased to 459 this year, compared to 445 in 2006 and 410 in 2005, but that the number of surprise IDF roadblocks decreased in the second half of 2007.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/940067.html

These reports indicate that the war on terror in Israel is being won with fewer civilian casualties on both sides. An aggressive military approach is halting terrorists before they have the chance to attack. Furthermore the army is adapting their methods to cope with urban warfare and using more non-lethal tactics. Hopefully within the next few years there will be results in single figures, and please god that figure will be 0.