Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed on Thursday that security forces recently discovered Hamas files proving the terrorist group had plans to carry out a large-scale assault on communities in Judea and Samaria and along the Seam Line security barrier.
“Hamas files have been seized that had a purpose of attacking towns in Judea and Samaria and along the Seam Line,” Katz said in remarks to heads of regional councils, Israel Hayom reported.
“The communities in Judea and Samaria are the protective wall of most of the State of Israel,” the defense minister declared. “When Judea and Samaria are protected, the large cities are protected. We must be on the offensive in Judea and defeat the enemy.”
The Yesha Council umbrella group that represents the approximately 500,000 Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria said in a response: “The Oct. 7, [2023], terror attack must not be repeated—nor in the Seam Line towns, nor in the cities of the Sharon [coastal plain], nor in Judea and Samaria.
“The way to prevent this is a clear defeat of terrorism—not only through targeted operations, but in a comprehensive move that will neutralize the threat to the cities of the Center and Judea and Samaria,” it added.
Tulkarem, a Palestinian terrorist hub in Samaria, east of Netanya, where Israeli forces have been conducting intensive counter-terrorism operations since last month, is located eight miles from the densely populated coastal plain.
Jerusalem stepped up raids after explosives were discovered on five buses in the cities of Bat Yam and Holon, south of Tel Aviv, on Feb. 20, which authorities called “an attempt to perpetrate a series of terrorist attacks with mass casualties.” One of the bombs bore an Arabic message referencing Tulkarem. No one was injured.
As part of the “Iron Wall” counter-terror operation in northern Samaria, Israeli forces arrested four wanted Palestinian suspects, the IDF said on Thursday, adding that four M-16 rifles were found in their possession.
Throughout the week, security forces arrested a total of some 75 terror suspects and seized 17 weapons, according to the IDF announcement.
More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Judea and Samaria terrorist organizations could carry out a significant attack similar to the Hamas-led massacre of some 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to a recent poll published by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that security forces last month seized a 220-pound explosive device that a Palestinian terrorist cell had planned to use against soldiers deployed to Judea and Samaria.
In September, Israeli authorities filed an indictment against a member of a terrorist squad based in Jenin who planned to infiltrate civilian communities in Samaria and carry out an Oct. 7-style massacre.
The indictment accused Osama Bani Fadl and other terrorist operatives of making serious preparations for a mass slaughter targeting Jewish residents of Samaria, including by infiltrating towns with vehicles.
Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO 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.
The figures, which were cross-checked against official data from Israel’s security services, included 3,668 instances of rock-throwing; 843 attacks with Molotov cocktails; 671 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers; 526 explosive charges; 364 cases of arson; and 179 terrorist shootings.
The rescue group also recorded 37 attempted or successful stabbings; 36 bottles of paint being thrown at vehicles; and 19 Palestinian car-ramming attacks, including 12 that caused injuries to Israelis.
The report noted that the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) last year foiled more than 1,000 potential attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
