Hamas continues to dig underground, building dozens of tunnels used to attack and kidnap Israelis while manufacturing powerful weapons, producing missiles that can reach major Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

The terrorist authority has trained civilians to become experts in building underground tunnel, IDF spokesmen stated on the military’s blog website.“Hamas’ military wing devotes about 20 percent of its budget to building these tunnels inside Gaza, many of which lead under the border into Israel.

IDF soldiers last October discovered the opening of a 60-foot deep and mile-long tunnel built by Gaza terrorists near the Israeli community of Ein HaShlosha.

“There’s one Gaza above ground, and another one underground,” said a senior officer in the IDF Intelligence Corps. “Tunneling has existed [in Gaza] since the mid 1990s, but it has really grown into an industry. More funds are invested in it – we’re talking about millions of dollars every year – and the need for engineers are growing.

“Our estimate is that there are tens of tunnels from Gaza into Israel, only half of which we know about. Hamas pays professionals to train special military units that have one simple purpose: to dig and tunnel underground.”

Since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense, in November 2012, Hamas has been busy rebuilding its arsenal. Because importing weapons has become more difficult for Hamas, the terrorist organization has begun manufacturing rockets inside Gaza, and Hamas is producing the M-75, which can reach as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

“They focus on rockets of higher quality,” explained the officer. “During Operation Pillar of Defense, only five M-75 rockets were fired, but we expect more in a future conflict.” The rocket is only one part of Hamas’ expanding arsenal. Today there are more than 10,000 rockets, mortar shells and ammunition in the hands of the Gaza terrorists.

Soldiers manning a checkpoint near Tulkarm, several miles east of Netanya, uncovered three weapons late Thursday night. No further details were available.

Earlier in the day, a Palestinian Authority Arab rammed his car past the barrier at the entrance to the southern Hebron Hills community of Beit Haggai, southwest of Hebron.

His car crashed against a wall, and Beit Haggai’s security team held the terrorists until Israeli soldiers arrived and arrested him. He was treated in an Israeli hospital for light wounds from his accident. Israel’s national radio station said that the terrorist  was seeking martyrdom but failed to kill any Jews and himself.

In Samaria, rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle, causing no injuries or damage.

Gaza terrorists resumed rocket fire on Israel Thursday night, firing one rocket that exploded in an open area.

The IDF has carried out its threat to retaliate after every rocket attack, and a military response can be expected in the next several hours.

The IDF has released an exclusive video that offers a rare glimpse into advanced combat training to defend Israel against Hezbollah.

The footage shows the elite Combat Engineering Battalion 601 in a simulated takeover of a Hezbollah position. The simulation prepared soldiers for the moment of truth against Hezbollah, simulating the takeover of a terrorist stronghold and an attempt to kidnap Israeli soldiers.

Hezbollah continues to arm itself with long-range missiles and other weapons capable of striking any part of Israel. The terrorist army in southern Lebanon, armed by Syria and Iran and financed by Tehran, has an estimated 80,000-100,000 missiles.

The Israeli Air Force has carried out pre-emptive bombings of several convoys of advanced Soviet-made missiles that were destined for Hezbollah from Syria.

The IDF has developed sophisticated methods to stop Hezbollah, whose size and strength have grown dramatically since the 34-day Second Lebanon War in 2006.

“The best way to maintain our readiness and remain sharp is to train,” said the battalion’s commander, Lt. Col. Yanai Manor. “We try as much as possible to simulate events that could occur in reality.”

Al Qaeda terrorists already have set up three bases in Turkey after having established a presence in Syria, IDF Intelligence Chief Maj.- Gen. Aviv Kochavi told a national security conference in Tel Aviv.

“Syria is projecting its conflict to the whole region. Those blotches (on the map) in Turkey are no mistake by the graphic artist and it is a short way from there into Europe,” Kochavi said.

Turkey has denied that Al Qaeda is allowing Al Qaeda to operate within its borders, but Kochavi’s spokeswoman provided Reuters with a map showing where the terrorist bases are located.

The head of IDF Intelligence said on Wednesday that enemy countries have 170,000 missiles ready to be fired on Israel, a threat that is worse than the Iranian nuclear program.

The numbers have been known before the sum total was announced by Intelligence Director Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. It has been reported dozens of times that Hezbollah has anywhere between 60,000 and 100,000 missiles It also is a given that Syria, Hamas and Sinai terrorists have an arsenal in the tens of thousands.

Kochavi, speaking at a security conference in Tel Aviv, also said that cyber warfare is the greatest revolution in warfare since the invention of gunpowder and that Israel.

A Palestinian Authority terrorists fired 12 bullets on and Israeli military position in northern Samaria Wednesday morning before soldiers shot and killed him. None of the soldiers were injured.

“IDF soldiers acted swiftly and professionally to prevent casualties,” stated IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner following the attack. “We will continue to stand guard and protect Israeli civilians from terror acts such as this one.”

Forces from the Nahal Brigade were alerted to the scene to assist the soldiers who were attacked. The IDF is currently searching the area of the firefight, near the Jewish community of Ateret located north of Jerusalem.

The official WAFA Palestinian Authority news agency reported the incident as an attack by the IDF. “Israeli forces Wednesday opened fire and killed a Palestinian youth near the village of Ein Siniya, north of Ramallah,” it stated.

The terrorist, or in PA language the “youth,” was identified as Mohammed Mubarak, 20, from the Jalazoun village under the auspices of UNRWA. WAFA graciously added that soldiers “claimed” Mubarak shot first and that they prevented Arab medics from reaching the body.

Mubarak was armed with an improvised sub-machine gun, and it is not known if he was connected with a terrorist group. The latest “fashion” in Arab terror is for lone terrorists to wake up in the morning, say prayers to Allah and carry out the plea for martyrdom to kill Jews.

Mubarak reportedly has scouted the area for several days before attacking the IDF, which was patrolling the area where the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is carrying out road repairs. Haartez reported that the soldiers recently questioned the terrorist.

That answers any questions why the IDF conducts those “demeaning” searchers at checkpoints in Judea and Samaria.

The attack has been buried by most Israeli media under the avalanche of news of his political war between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Jewish Home party chairman Naftali Bennett and the report by New York Times’ columnist Thomas Friedman on details of the “framework” to be presented by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

As usual, everyone is concentrating on the secondary issue and not the most important event, but Arab terror almost always plays second fiddle to peace talks.

The Palestinian Authority terrorist opened fire on soldiers near the community of Ateret.

Israeli soldiers delayed the convoy of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah for the fourth time in a month on Tuesday, according to the PA’s official WAFA website.

It did not say how long the convoy was delayed but only stated that the soldiers stopped the vehicles to inspect identification cards of Hamdallah’s security force.

The Palestinian Authority “denounced the Israeli act and the demand by the soldiers to inspect the identity cards of Hamdallah’s guards.”

Given the fact that some PA security forces have carried out terrorist attacks in the recent as far as distant past, and given the lack of ability – if not cooperation – of the Palestinian Authority to stop attacks, it would seem not unreasonable for the IDF to check the guards” IDs.

The PA considers the inspections “provocation and harassment of the Palestinian leaders.”

The IDF stopped Hamdallah’s convoy earlier this month after soldiers noticed that Hamdallah’s car was being driven recklessly.

Israeli spokesman said “no comment” on reports from Lebanon that the Israeli Air Force bombed Syrian missiles destined for Hezbollah.

Explosions were reported in the Syrian port city of Latakia, which previously has been targeted and presumably by Israel to prevent “game-changing” weapons from being smuggled into Lebaon for Hezbollah.

Several Lebanese new sources as well as the Lebanese army reported that Israeli planes entered Lebanese airspace at low altitudes and remained in the air for more than one hour.