The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday announced the deployment of a new division, established within 48 hours, to protect the country’s eastern border with Jordan amid ongoing Iranian cross-border smuggling attempts.
The 96th “Gilead” Division was hastily founded and trained “with the aim of reinforcing and doubling the forces on the eastern border for various defense missions” immediately following the start of Israel’s war with the Islamic Republic on June 13, the military said in a statement.
The troops completed their first division-level exercise on Thursday, drilling “emergency scenarios and rapid response to erupting events, while enhancing the division’s combat readiness,” according to the IDF.
“Operation Rising Lion” against Tehran’s nuclear capabilities “was an excellent opportunity to accelerate the establishment” of the division, said IDF Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who is responsible for the army’s Central Command area of responsibility, which includes Judea and Samaria.
“Success is defined as an opportunity meeting capability,” stated Bluth. “There was a great opportunity here and it met immense motivation from people in regular service, permanent service and the reserves, with very high capabilities. You understood the gravity of the moment—you also understood the operational need, and you performed excellently.”
Israel Hayom reported on Sunday that the 96th Division’s deployment was accelerated by “months” following the launch of “Operation Rising Lion” as the IDF believes that the greatest security threat facing the Jewish state will likely shift to the eastern border with Jordan.
The Israeli daily cited IDF sources as saying that the Islamic Republic is expected to focus on undermining the Hashemite Kingdom’s stability and turn the country into a new platform for its terrorist proxy forces.
The government was also said to be investing millions of shekels in refurbishing abandoned military posts in the 96th Division’s area of responsibility and increasing the civilian presence near the border.
Jerusalem’s plans include the establishment of a new city along the border as well as building additional communities, in addition to a major project aimed at completing a security fence along the border.
Israel’s border with Jordan is the Jewish state’s longest, spanning nearly 200 miles. While Jerusalem has a peace treaty with Amman and the two countries cooperate on security, recent cross-border terrorist attacks and increasing attempts to smuggle weapons have caused concern.
Israel’s Ynet news outlet cited security sources as claiming last week that Tehran regards Palestinian terrorist organizations it backs across Judea and Samaria as its “last proxy” and was working to ignite more violence.