1,972,000 pupils return to school today nationwide as a new wave of Palestinian terror threatens to interrupt the calm. Since a series of coordinated terror attacks claimed the lives of nine people along Israel’s southern border with Egypt on August 18th, perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists who infiltrating the Sinai from the Gaza Strip through smuggling tunnels and reached an area of Israel’s border protected only by a wire fence, a barrage of over a hundred rockets and mortars were also fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, hitting areas including Beersheba, Ashdod, and Ashkelon and claiming the life of one while injuring at least 20 others. In Tel-Aviv eight people were wounded in a terror attack, which took place in the early hours of August 29th. 20-year-old Palestinian Nablus resident was arrested after he rammed into a Border Guard roadblock stationed near a nightclub and stabbed several police officers and security guards. According to the police, the assailant planned to carry out the attack within the nightclub where over 2000 teenagers were present for an end-of-summer party.

Last night a third Iron Dome battery was deployed near Ashdod to intercept incoming missiles from Gaza, joining those deployed near Ashkelon and Beersheba in hope they will allow a fruitful year of education for Israeli children in the south. Israel Police has deployed thousands of officers near schools nationwide to ensure a smooth transition into the new scholastic year but scarce manpower will not allow maintaining such deployment for long.