The newly constituted Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday held its first meeting, hearing from IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) intelligence chiefs about the Iran, Gaza and West Bank terror axis.
New FADC Chairman Yoav Gallant, who was just appointed last week, called for the special hearing following a series of recent terror attacks, including within the Green Line.
He replaced Ram Ben Barak as the new coalition takes control of various aspects of the Knesset.
It is unclear whether Gallant will remain in that post or may be promoted to become the next defense minister, if and when the coalition succeeds at also forming a new government.
What we learned at the terror update hearing
At the hearing, IDF Operations Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Oded Bisiyuk, IDF Operations Division Chief Col. Yisrael Shomer, IDF Deputy Chief for Intelligence Analysis Col. “B”, the Shin Bet intelligence chief and the Shin Bet chief of the Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria regions all presented the most updated data regarding the Palestinian and related arenas.
Those officials presented a mix of both defensive and offensive measures that they are taking to confront the latest uptick in terrorism.
In addition, the officials discussed updated measures they are taking for cross-organization intelligence cooperation.
The IDF also went into detail regarding a variety of specific human and other resources it is currently using to collect and analyze intelligence materials.
Gallant praised the committee members for taking the issues seriously and putting politics aside.
Upon his appointment last week, Gallant said, "the threats on Israeli security and efforts to keep it safe...don't stop for a moment and are not dependent on the politics of the moment. The security challenges are complex and the many tasks and different fronts are diverse."