Terrorist elements could attempt to disturb the “stabilization processes” in the region, particularly in Judea and Samaria, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned top army officials Tuesday.
The region is “in a period of significant change, which could bring new developments, and we must be prepared for all scenarios,” Zamir said during a visit to the military’s Central Command base in Jerusalem.
IDF Central Command is headed by Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth and covers Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, the Sharon plain, Gush Dan (the Tel Aviv metropolitan area) and the Judaean Foothills.
To ease the burden on IDF reservists, the army will reinforce the Judea and Samaria sector with more active-duty battalions, Zamir revealed.
Israel “still faces many challenges on all fronts, particularly in Judea and Samaria,” he told senior commanders. “We must maintain stability, fight Palestinian terrorism, strengthen the defense of the communities and continue to initiate offensive operations to thwart emerging threats.”
Speaking with regional brigade commanders, the chief of staff urged them to “present the situation as it truly is to your superiors and to remain attentive to your subordinates,” calling this “one of the key lessons” of the Hamas-led surprise attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.
Zamir also spoke with Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller and other senior officers from the General Staff, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Border Police, the IDF said.
Zamir’s visit to the Central Command headquarters came amid a reported uptick in Palestinian terrorism across Judea and Samaria.
On Saturday, two Israeli soldiers sustained moderate wounds when a Palestinian terrorist threw an explosive device at them in Tubas, northeastern Samaria, in a third attack of its kind in as many days.
On Friday night, residents of the Mevaser Shalom outpost near Evyatar in northern Samaria reported gunfire directed at them as they patrolled the community’s perimeter, Israel National News reported on Saturday.
One of the bullets reportedly hit a few meters away from the residents, but they emerged unscathed and were able to alert the security forces.
Overnight Thursday, the “Ramallah Battalion” of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group claimed that it had targeted an Israeli vehicle with gunfire on the Route 60 highway in Samaria’s south.
The IDF announced that it was probing the alleged attack, which was reported to have been carried out from the Arab village of Ein Yabrud.
In total, Palestinian terrorists targeted Israelis in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to data published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) group on Feb. 17.
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.
