The IDF in Hebron. Photo: wiki commons.

Israel has seen an uptick in terrorism in the West Bank and Gaza in recent weeks, Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.

Addressing the discovery of a tunnel running from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the existence of which the IDF laid blame for on Hamas, Netanyahu said “an aggressive policy against terrorism, including preventive action, intelligence, initiated action, responsive action and, of course, Operation Pillar of Defense” has “led to the fact that this year has been the quietest in over a decade.”

“However,” he continued, “we have witnessed an increase in terrorist actions in recent weeks.”

In particular Netanyahu noted the murder of Colonel (res.) Sariya Ofer in the Jordan Valley on Friday. A friend of his brother Ido during their formative years, Netanyahu recalled Ofer as  “a mature, serious boy who afterwards, during his military service, contributed greatly to the IDF and the security of the state.”

Security forces arrested three suspects in connection to the murder. Two of the three have since confessed to the murder. However, Israeli defense officials said Sunday that the murder was not a terror attack and was likely criminally motivated.