The wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis that began in October 2015 has greatly receded. The most recent ones occurred Dec. 30, when a girl attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at the Qalandia military checkpoint near Ramallah; Jan. 3, when two Israeli soldiers were wounded by a driver who ran over them near the Jalama checkpoint, north of Jenin; and Jan. 8, when four more soldiers were killed in a truck attack in Jerusalem. These types of attacks have been accompanied by a gradual increase in the use of firearms, including a Dec. 19 incident in which an Israeli settler was shot and wounded near the Beit Aryeh-Ofarim settlement.

On Dec. 21, the Israeli army announced the discovery of a large weapon mill in Hebron capable of producing a variety of arms. The Israeli army is currently investigating possible connections to Hamas. The workshop contained 12 lathes and hundreds of weapons and combat gear. The Israelis also discovered equipment used to manufacture knockoff versions of US-made M-16 rifles and sniper rifles, a first in the territories, and unfinished Russian rifles capable of hitting targets at 600 meters (656 yards). Earlier in 2016, the army had discovered an armory of 40 lathes for arms production and confiscated 420 weapons and assorted gear.

Wasef Erekat, a retired commander of artillery forces for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, told Al-Monitor, “The discovery of the weapons workshops and militant cells is an Israeli narrative that is yet to be confirmed by Palestinians. But Israel is blocking any Palestinian attempts to produce weapons, as it recognizes the threat from local manufacturing like that in Gaza, where Palestinians indeed succeeded in producing such weapons and mortar shells starting in early 2000. Israel also fears such military production could move to the West Bank. Such a scenario would represent security threats given the proximity of Palestinian and Israeli cities.”

Erekat added, “Palestinian factions face great difficulty in importing arms from outside the occupied Palestinian territories, which led them to craft their own in weapon mills and metal workshops. Amid the ongoing political stagnation with the Palestinian Authority [PA], everything is possible in Israel, including armed attacks with the PA turning a blind eye.”