Netanyahu: Israel in a challenging security situation on all fronts

Israel is in the midst of a challenging security situation that is complicated on several fronts, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the heads of Gaza border communities in a Sunday afternoon call.

In the call, Netanyahu stressed the final word has not yet been said, promising the local council heads, whose residents last week suffered barrages of rockets from the Gaza Strip, that issues with protective infrastructure in the area will be addressed.

The past weekend has seen a worrying rise in the amount of terror-based crime across Israel, with 23 terror incidents recorded throughout the weekend, Maariv reported. This is in contrast to four incidents recorded last weekend.

In addition, the IDF conducted airstrikes in the Damascus area early Sunday morning after six rockets were fired in two waves toward the Golan Heights overnight, following earlier waves of rockets from Lebanon and the Strip.

Israel can't compromise on settlers' security, West Bank council heads tell Smotrich

Israel's government must not compromise on the security of Israelis in settlements across the West Bank, 14 heads of local councils in the Judea and Samaria region told Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a Saturday evening discussion.

"We will not allow compromising on the security of 500,000 residents," the Yesha council members said. "Now is the time to increase settlement across Judea and Samaria, including taking actual, immediate steps" to achieve that, they told Smotrich.

Smotrich agreed to several demands made by the local council heads, including the establishment of checkpoints near settlements, the launch of an operation to collect stolen weaponry used by terrorist organizations and actions to improve the infrastructure and construction of settlements.