United Hatzalah volunteers and IDF soldiers at the Giti intersection on Highway 5 in Samaria, the scene of an attempted stabbing attack, on Jan. 26, 2021. Photo: United Hatzalah.

i24 News – Israeli security forces allegedly thwarted a “major” attack this week as hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians escalate, Israel’s Channel 12 and Channel 13 reported on Monday.

Israeli media reported that the Shin Bet security services and the country’s police foiled a number of attacks, but did not provide further details.

Authorities are on high alert, fearing further violence in Jerusalem during the Yom Kippur holiday, which begins Wednesday evening.

According to Channel 13, nearly 2,000 police officers have been deployed to the city.

This week, several alleged attacks and attempted stabbings have been reported in Israel and the West Bank

Both Israelis and Palestinians have claimed that the perpetrators of the violence were galvanized by the escape of prisoners from the Gilboa Prison last week.

“I don’t know if we are on the verge of escalation,” Public Security Minister Omer Barlev told Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.

“It is certain that we are in a very sensitive period: the recent attacks, the escape of terrorists from prison and the two that have not yet been found, as well as our problems with Hamas,” he stated.

“Any incident could set fire to the whole region, so we are preparing for an escalation in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza,” he said, using an alternative name for the West Bank.

He stressed, however, that neither party has a real interest in “setting this keg of powder on fire.”