Security forces arrested three illegal infiltrators from the Gaza Strip near the Jewish community of Ofra in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria on Tuesday.
“IDF forces, during routine activity at the Ofra Junction, carried out an inspection of a vehicle containing several suspects,” an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told public broadcaster Kan News.
“They were detained at the [military] position for questioning, and after a short time, they were released. The driver of the vehicle was taken for further questioning by the security forces,” the statement added.
The army did not explain how the men, reportedly residents of Jabalia in north Gaza, entered Israeli territory or why two of them were released. Ofra is located some 55 miles northeast of the Strip, and the Gazans would have passed through multiple security checkpoints to reach Binyamin.
In related news, police arrested 16 illegal infiltrators, residents of Judea and Samaria, after officers pulled over a van near Moshav Ma’ale Gamla in the Golan Heights on Wednesday, the Israel Police said.
The suspects were taken to a police station in Katzrin, where it became clear that the driver, a 28-year-old resident of Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam, near Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee, was transporting the infiltrators to work in the area without a permit.
Authorities confiscated the minivan pending the investigation, and the suspects are expected to remain in police custody.
“The Israel Police fights against every element that aids the entry and stay of illegal residents in the territory of the State of Israel and will use all means at its disposal to bring perpetrators to justice,” police said.
Security services in recent days also arrested 14 infiltrators in Tel Aviv, including two from Gaza, as well as eight in the southern city of Sderot.
The Israel Border Police alone has detained more than 8,000 illegal Arab infiltrators since the start of 2024, according to data published in June.
“My policy regarding illegals, who are a platform for terrorism, is very clear—zero tolerance!” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on June 3, after undercover officers arrested 17 infiltrators as they attempted to enter Jerusalem through a Samaria checkpoint.
In November, Jerusalem police arrested 11 illegal Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including the sister of a Hamas terrorist, during a raid of Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Society Hospital on the capital’s Mount of Olives.
Meanwhile, an undated video that went viral on Hebrew social media this week showed Israeli security forces discovering at least three Arab illegals concealed under the cargo bed of a pickup truck.
