Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday that the two terror attacks in which IDF soldiers were killed over the weekend should not raise fears in Israel of a third intifada breaking out in the West Bank.
Ya'alon stated that the defense establishment was "looking at the current period and we see no reason for any kind of alarm, or signs of an intifada. There is no connection between the two terror attacks and we believe that the IDF will succeed in calming the situation on the ground."
As he hosted haredi soldiers and youth volunteers at his succa at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Ya'alon sent his condolences to the families of Tomer Hazan, killed by a Palestinian co-worker who led him to the West Bank on Friday and Gal Kobi, who was shot by a Palestinian sniper in Hebron on Sunday.
"We will not rest until we catch the last terrorist involved in these attacks," Ya'alon vowed.
The defense minister stated that the terror attacks prove that Israel must "continue to hold the sword, despite being a peace-seeking people."
Following Hazan's murder, Ya'alon on Sunday blamed the attack on the Oslo accords and the subsequent prisoner releases which he said encourage the kidnapping of IDF soldiers and soldiers' bodies.
Hazan's alleged murderer, Nedal Amar, told security forces he led the victim, with whom he worked together in a restaurant in Bat Yam, to the West Bank, where he committed the murder in hopes of securing the release of his brother – an incarcerated terrorist arrested in 2003.
“In an hour, we will bury a soldier who was murdered by a Palestinian so that his body could be traded and a terrorist could be released from jail,” Ya’alon told Christian lawmakers from around the world at the Israel Allies Foundation’s Jerusalem Chairman’s Conference in the capital.
This is a tactic that, unfortunately, has been used in the past. 1,500 Israelis were killed after Israel signed a peace accord with the Palestinians. These are the fruits of peace,” he added.
Ya’alon expressed skepticism about the current round of peace talks, calling it “another political process our allies think will bring peace."