Israeli security forces have launched a large-scale operation to destroy terrorist infrastructure in Jenin in northern Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
Dubbed “Iron Wall,” the operation includes IDF troops, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers and Border Police, according to the military.
The IDF entered Jenin immediately after Palestinian Authority police officers left the area, according to Arab media reports. Earlier this week, it was reported that Ramallah struck a deal with the Iranian-backed Jenin Battalion terror coalition, ending a rare month-long P.A. operation in the city.
Israeli ground forces entered the city with the stated goal of preserving Jerusalem’s ability to swiftly act against terrorist groups in Jenin, known among Palestinians as the “Martyrs’ Capital” due to the significant number of suicide bombers that have emanated from the area.
Palestinian reports cited the P.A. Health Ministry as claiming that one person was killed in an airstrike shortly after the start of the operation. Arab media also reported wounded in firefights throughout the city.
On Monday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi ordered the military to prepare for counter-terrorism operations throughout Judea and Samaria amid an uptick in terror following the ceasefire in Gaza.
“In addition to the intense defensive preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be prepared for significant operations in Judea and Samaria in the coming days in order to get ahead of and catch the terrorists before they reach our citizens,” Halevi stated following a situational assessment.
Halevi’s remarks came hours after one IDF soldier was killed and four others were injured, one seriously, by a roadside bomb in the Arab village of Tammun, northeast of Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria.
Concerns are also growing in Jerusalem that the release of hundreds of Palestinian terrorists as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas—many of whom will be allowed to return to Judea, Samaria and the eastern part of the country’s capital—has the potential to ignite more terror in the area.
The Israel Hayom daily reported that the counter-terror raid was first planned for December, but postponed at the request of the political echelon after the Palestinian Authority launched its Jenin operation.
“At the direction of the Security Cabinet, the IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police today launched a large and significant military operation to eradicate terror in Jenin—'Iron Wall,’” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
“This is another step towards the goal we have set—strengthening security in Judea and Samaria. We are acting systematically and resolutely against the Iranian axis wherever its arms reach—in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the operation would be a “strong and ongoing campaign” aimed at protecting Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, which he called a “security belt” for the entire Jewish state.
“After Gaza and Lebanon, today, with God’s help, we have begun changing the security perception also in Judea and Samaria, in the campaign to eradicate terrorism in the region,” Smotrich said.
Hebrew media reported that four IDF battalions were participating in the operation in Jenin, amounting to several hundred ground troops, including elite commando soldiers, in addition to Israel Border Police forces. The military raid is expected to last at least several days.
