Israel Defense Forces units will remain stationed in northern Samaria’s refugee camps—Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur al-Shams—at least until the end of 2025, following a sweeping military offensive aimed at dismantling terrorist infrastructure in the region, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday.
Katz said that these camps, once hubs for attacks throughout Judea and Samaria, had operated under Iranian backing, acting as a “front against Israel.”
He noted that the recent IDF operations resulted in the evacuation of residents, elimination of terrorists and destruction of terrorist networks.
מחנות הפליטים בצפון השומרון - ג'נין, טולכרם ונור א-שאמס - היו חממות טרור שנבנו במימון, חימוש והכוונה איראנית כחזית נוספת נגד ישראל, ומשם יצאו פיגועים לכל רחבי יו"ש.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 10, 2025
בהמשך לביקוריי בשטח ומפגשים עם מפקדים וחיילים, הנחיתי את צה"ל לשנות מדיניות.
צה"ל פתח במתקפה עוצמתית על מחנות… pic.twitter.com/V9cn20O2eN
As a result of these actions, “there is no terrorism in the camps, and the volume of terror alerts in Judea and Samaria has decreased by 80%,” Katz said. He described the approach as a model for counter-terrorism, emphasizing aggressive pursuit and dismantling of threats in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.
IDF arrests 70 wanted suspects, seizes weapons
Israeli forces arrested approximately 70 wanted individuals and confiscated dozens of weapons in a sweeping operation across Judea and Samaria this past week, according to a statement released on Sunday.
As part of the crackdown, IDF troops searched more than 50 villages and targeted suspects involved in stone-throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks on Israeli civilians.
In Balata, Samaria, the elite Duvdevan undercover unit apprehended a weapons dealer accused of supplying arms to terrorists. Additional operations in Qabatia resulted in the arrest of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist operative and another weapons dealer.
