“The army is now seriously turning its attention to Yehuda and Shomron. The terrorists have raised their heads,” a regional Yehuda and Shomron security chief, who simultaneously is serving in the IDF reserves as part of the “Operation Summer Camp” anti-terror campaign in the territories that began on Aug. 28, told JNS on Wednesday.
“It could be that until now they [the terrorists] didn’t have the finances, since Hamas in Gaza was funding all attacks in Yehuda and Shomron, [including those carried out by Palestinian Islamic Jihad], but it is possible they have now gotten together the funding,” he added. “The army realizes that it must deal with this now, and quickly, especially before the Jewish holidays.”
Israel’s security establishment has indicated its intention to intensify the offensive in Yehuda and Shomron, following a sharp increase in attempted terrorist attacks in recent days.
The current operation is the largest in the region since 2002’s “Operation Defensive Shield” during the Second Intifada.
Last Friday night, terrorists from the Chevron area attempted coordinated car-bombing attacks in Gush Etzion, while on Monday a car laden with 49 kilograms of explosives was neutralized outside the Binyamin region community of Ateret.
In addition, three Israeli police officers were killed in a drive-by terrorist shooting on Sunday morning on Route 35 near Hebron. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an arm of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, took responsibility for the attack.
“As the army proceeds in its missions, you are going to have Palestinians who want to be ‘martyrs,’ and their deaths are going to cause a whirlpool of responses, including others who will attempt attacks,” the security chief told JNS.
“I think that in order to try and show the army that it is not effective, there will be attempts [at attacks] here, there and everywhere. Maybe even a terrorist attempt per day, like in the 2015 ‘knife intifada,’ over the next couple of months. From the army’s assessment, we know that just like the attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv a few weeks ago, they are going to try to infiltrate [Green Line] Israel and try to carry out attacks as well,” he added.
National Religious Party MK Simcha Rothman, who lives in the Gush Etzion community of Pnei Kedem, told JNS, “I think the operation in Tulkarem and Jenin is a start, but it is far from being enough. The main problem is the Palestinian Authority, which pays the terrorists—some of the terrorists themselves are employed by the P.A. in its security forces, with some trained by the U.S. They are behind many of the terrorist attacks we see in Yehuda and Shomron.
“Until we understand that the IDF must be responsible for security, and stop thinking the P.A. is an ally, we will sadly see more and more terrorist attacks. The current operations might solve small problems, but it won’t create a new reality in Yehuda and Shomron,” added Rothman.
“Sadly, residents of Yehuda and Shomron are used to terrorist attacks, but when you see bombings, booby-trapped cars and attempted infiltrations, it creates great worry. We all understand now [since Oct. 7] that the difference between Yehuda and Shomron and the rest of the country has become indistinguishable.
“[Kibbutz] Be’eri and [Kibbutz] Kfar Aza, weren’t so-called ‘settlements,’” Rothman continued. “Citizens of Israel in Sderot and Ofakim and all around are dealing with the same jihadist powers from Iran, Gaza, Yehuda and Shomron, the Houthis [in Yemen], etc. And sadly, you can find those same forces from Iran and Qatar in the mosques of New Jersey, New York, Los Angeles and Florida, because those are the same ideologies and the driving force behind terror.”
Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Israel Ganz told JNS, “I demand a simple, principled approach to match the [military] actions with the threats. The army is working hard; soldiers and commanders are working tirelessly, for which we are all deeply grateful. However, if you don’t align the campaign with the threats, then you’re just chasing mosquitoes instead of draining the swamp.
“Therefore, my demand is clear: If we don’t act here as if we are in war, then war will catch up with us. The State of Israel needs to operate in Jenin as it does in Gaza, and in Chevron as in Rafah. We need to evacuate the [Palestinian] population and conduct a ‘mow the grass’ approach in the city centers and terror capitals, including razing terrorist neighborhoods and infrastructure to the ground,” he said.
Ganz noted that the IDF operation is having a strong impact on residents’ lives. “We feel the rise in terrorism on a daily basis and security is a lot tighter. That being said, the residents of Yehuda and Shomron are stronger now than ever before and are showing resilience. We have strong communities and value-driven families, and we say to the state leadership and the army: go full steam ahead towards victory on all fronts, we are behind you.’”
Religious Zionism Party MK Ohad Tal, who lives in Efrat, agreed with Rothman that the current military operation is insufficient.
“It’s definitely not enough; it’s just the beginning. The IDF plans to expand its activity against the terrorists, especially in northern Samaria. Israel understands that combating the terror cells in Yehuda and Shomron is inevitable. We know that Iran is smuggling enormous amounts of weapons through the border with Jordan, especially since the beginning of the war. These weapons are used to target innocent Israelis. We will not stand by and allow this to happen,” Tal said.
“The goal of the operation must be to wipe out the terror cells of Jenin, Tulkarem, Chevron and every place necessary, so that they won’t be able to harm and threaten Israeli lives. These terror attacks endanger not only residents of Yehuda and Shomron, but all Israelis,” he added. “As we saw only two weeks ago, a terrorist from Hebron carrying a bomb got to Tel Aviv—and only luck prevented a horrific result.”
(JNS)