In another sign that the situation in Judea and Samaria is heating up, IDF troops on Monday arrested an Arab terrorist who was found to have in his possession a modified M/45 Carl Gustav rifle. The M/45 is an improvised weapon, and was almost certainly locally-produced, raising the worrying prospect of local terrorist cells being able to manufacture their own weaponry.

Amir Lazover, the commander of the unit that discovered the weapon, said that the terrorist was stopped at a checkpoint, where soldiers discovered the weapon. Large forces of troops were called in, as were members of the bomb squad.

There is no doubt, Lazover said, that the terrorist was on his way to conduct a deadly attack. “We were able to stop a terror attack,” he said, adding that the incident made clear that the terrorists were checking to see whether IDF soldiers were remaining attentive to the situation in Judea and Samaria.

Last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry “threatened” Israel with a new intifada if it did not agree to withdraw from most of Judea and Samaria, as the Palestinian Authority demands. In an interview with Channel 2 television, Kerry said that there would be “chaos” and a “third intifada” if Israel's “peace talks” with the Palestinian Authority (PA) fail. “Failure of the talks will increase Israel's isolation in the world,” Kerry said. “The alternative to getting back to the talks is a potential of chaos. I mean, does Israel want a third intifada?”

Israeli leaders slammed the comments, saying they amounted to incitement and warning such rhetoric could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Lazover said that, currently, there was no third intifada developing. “There has not been an increase in the number of security incidents in recent weeks, but the quality of these potential attacks have increased,” he said.