Overview: Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) maintained security control of 17.5 percent (called Area A) of the West Bank, as agreed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in the Oslo Accords. Israeli security forces (ISF) maintained responsibility for the remaining 82.5 percent of the West Bank, including Area B (22.5 percent), where the Palestinian Authority (PA) had administrative control, and Area C (60.0 percent), where Israel maintained administrative control. PASF and ISF continued counterterrorism (CT) and law enforcement efforts in the West Bank, where U.S. designated terrorist groups such as Hamas, the PIJ, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine operated. PASF and ISF constrained the ability of those organizations to conduct attacks, including by arresting terrorist members.

PASF continued proactively to arrest individuals planning attacks against Palestinian and Israeli targets or those suspected of supporting terrorist organizations, though not at the pace Israeli authorities have requested, and to arrest Palestinians wanted for weapons smuggling or illegal weapons possession. PASF turned over to ISF Israelis arrested in the West Bank for smuggling weapons or possessing illegal arms.

The United States, through the multinational office of the U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, worked with the PA Ministry of Interior and PASF on reform efforts and training, including CT. Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, maintained de facto control over Gaza in 2022 and provided safe haven for itself and other terrorist groups, such as PIJ.

2022 Terrorist Incidents: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) reported 154 Palestinians killed in the West Bank, 97 percent by gunfire, and 49 killed in Gaza, all by explosive weapons, in 2022. UN OCHA reported 850 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including 620 attacks against Palestinian property, 125 attacks that caused physical injury, and 105 attacks that caused both property damage and injury, the highest level of incidents recorded since the United Nations started reporting settler-related violence in 2005. These were 71 percent and 137 percent increases, compared with 2021 and 2020, respectively. PA (and some Israeli) officials described settler violence as terrorism. ISF reported 305 shooting attacks committed in or emanating from the West Bank in 2022, more than triple the attacks (91) recorded in 2021. In press reports, Israeli officials described these incidents as terror attacks:

• From late March to early May, there were several attacks against Israeli civilians. Four of the perpetrators of these attacks were West Bank residents. These attacks included two mass shootings in Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv on March 29 and April 7, respectively; and a stabbing attack in El’ad on May 5.
• In November an 18-year-old Palestinian killed three persons and wounded four in the Israeli settlement of Ariel. The attacker stabbed a security guard and three others at a gas station, stole a car, which he used to run over a bystander, exited, stabbed another civilian, and was then shot and killed by an Israeli soldier.
• On August 1, ISF arrested senior PIJ member Bassam al-Saadi in Jenin. In anticipation of retaliatory action, ISF on August 5 launched 147 airstrikes against targets in Gaza. PIJ responded by firing 1,100 rockets at targets in Israel. Gazan authorities reported 49 Palestinians killed, including 12 members of the PIJ. Israel reported 35 Palestinians killed, including 15 by PIJ rockets. Israel and Gazan authorities reported tens of Israelis and Palestinians were injured.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: There were no changes in laws applicable to the West Bank and Gaza in 2022.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The PA is a member of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force. Its FIU, the Palestinian Financial Follow-Up Unit, is a member of the Egmont Group. There were no significant changes in 2022.

Countering Violent Extremism: PA President Abbas maintained a public position against incitement of violence and terrorism and frequently reiterated his commitment to non-violence, a two-state solution, and other PLO commitments.  In April, Abbas condemned late March and early April attacks on Israeli civilians in Israel, committed by Palestinian or Arab Israelis and Palestinians from the West Bank.  Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, praised attacks against Israeli civilians in Israel.

The PA and PLO continued payments to Palestinian security prisoners, some of whom were connected to terrorism, and the families of “martyrs” likewise connected to acts of terrorism. The PA’s 2017 cybercrime law prohibited the production or sharing of content that jeopardizes “the public order,” including promoting human trafficking, drugs, and terrorism. However, PA enforcement has been inconsistent. Certain official PA traditional and social media, affiliated with the Fatah political party, featured content praising or condoning acts of terrorism. In March the PA official news agency Wafa’s Facebook page posted a portrait of Dalal al-Moghrabi to mark the 44th anniversary of her death and praised her as “the icon of struggle and resistance.” Al-Moghrabi in 1978 carried out a terrorist attack that killed 38 Israelis.

Few cases of settler violence in the West Bank against Palestinians have resulted in arrests or convictions; there were no convictions related to settler violence in 2022. Media also reported incidents where the IDF was present during settler attacks.

International and Regional Cooperation: PA justice and security leaders, including security force leadership, continued to participate in regional conferences and meetings to combat terrorism.