JERUSALEM, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Shin Bet security service said on Wednesday that the agency has prevented about 250 "significant terror attacks" since January.
"Since the beginning of the year, the Shin Bet has thwarted 250 significant terror attacks, including suicide bombings, kidnappings and shootings," said Nadav Argaman, head of the Shin Bet.
His remarks were made at an international conference of public security ministers in Jerusalem.
He said the armed Palestinian struggle has changed from organized attacks, led by militant groups, to the lone wolf attacks, carried out by individuals affiliated with no specific group.
"The phenomenon of the lone-wolf terrorist has been noticeable in recent years," Argaman said, adding that these individuals often carry out attacks following demagogic discourse on social networks.
The Shin Bet has adapted technological means, including big data analysis, to find these potential assailants before they carry out attack, he noted.
"The great investment in technological developments in the worlds of big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence, by the Shin Bet has created a great leap forward from intelligence extraction to intelligence prediction for the purposes of preventing terror attacks and terrorist intentions before they are carried out," he explained.
Israel has witnessed waves of Palestinian knife, shooting and car-ramming attacks in recent years. The Jewish state accuses the Palestinian National Authority of inciting attacks, but the Palestinians say the violence is a result of the 51-year Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
