Israeli Army Using Tech to Provide Warning Signs of West Bank Terror

The Israeli army has launched a pilot project to use advanced technology to provide information to soldiers that would prevent terrorist attacks, including at West Bank checkpoints.

The project is already underway in the northern West Bank.

The effort uses radar, cameras and other sources over a wide area to gather and analyze information about anyone acting suspiciously.

The army’s West Bank division combines intelligence warnings with a reliance on soldiers on the ground. Of the 19 terrorist attacks committed in the past year, 12 were deemed to have had serious outcomes, underlining the need to give soldiers the earliest possible warning.

In the program, a soldier at a checkpoint would wear a digital watch that would provide information, for example, about a suspicious car or pedestrian nearby.

According to the army, last year 3,173 Palestinians were arrested in the West Bank on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activity or disturbances of the peace. From January through April this year, 406 weapons of various kinds were confiscated.