Hundreds of Israel Border Police officers are participating in large-scale raids in the northern Jerusalem’s Kafr Aqab neighborhood as part of an ongoing campaign along the security barrier surrounding the capital, police announced on Tuesday.
The operation in Kafr Aqab, part of the “Shield of the Capital” campaign launched earlier this month, started on Monday and is expected to continue in the coming days, according to the police statement.
Border Police, Jerusalem District Police and Israel Defense Forces, as well as municipal enforcement officials, were participating, it stated.
“At the start of the operation, the forces opened a section of the separation [security] barrier using engineering tools, enabling the continuous and controlled entry of additional forces and equipment,” police continued.
Police and other security forces secured Jerusalem Municipality officials observing the demolition of the buildings and infrastructure built illegally over the years. Police said the unauthorized construction had damaged the security barrier and posed security risks around the fence.
Police added that the raids would continue over the coming days and include additional demolitions targeting dozens of illegal structures.
The raid in Kafr Aqab “is a central part of the Jerusalem District Police’s security concept,” stated Israel Police Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled, the recently minted commander of the district.
“Illegal construction near the barrier has disrupted security operations and undermined the integrity [of the barrier],” Peled stated. “The ‘Shield of the Capital’ plan addresses these challenges to protect the residents of Jerusalem.”
During operations in Jerusalem’s northeastern Shuafat neighborhood earlier this month, police confiscated three illegal handguns, M16 rifle components, ammunition, two tactical vests, drugs and a cloned vehicle (a car that has a Vehicle Identification Number and license plates copied from a legitimate vehicle). Eight suspects were detained for questioning.
The operation was developed following Peled’s appointment and aims to strengthen security in the capital and surrounding communities through intelligence-based enforcement, police said on Jan. 12.
In December, Israel’s State Comptroller warned that the failure to fix 20-year-old operational gaps in the security fence has created conditions ripe for a coordinated, Oct. 7, 2023-style terror attack in Jerusalem.
The report, published on Dec. 23 by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, described a system paralyzed by bureaucratic infighting, where Palestinians cross freely into Israel’s pre-1967 border without inspection, military observers sit in danger near hostile territory and government decisions regarding the barrier remain unimplemented.
