Israeli forces detain 20 terror suspects in Judea, Samaria

The security forces arrested 20 wanted Palestinian terrorists during a series of counter-terror raids across Judea and Samaria overnight Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced.

In an operation in the Nur al-Shams camp near Tulkarem in western Samaria, Israeli forces discovered and dismantled several explosives.

In another raid, six terrorists were apprehended in the Arab town of al-Aroub, near Bethlehem in Judea, in connection with rock-throwing attacks targeting Jewish drivers, the Israeli military statement said on Monday.

The suspected terrorists were taken into custody for interrogation.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem District Police officers arrested two residents of the city’s east who were “throwing stones at cars on a main road and endangering lives,” police said, sharing footage of the attack.

The security forces “will continue to operate to thwart terrorism in Judea and Samaria to maintain the safety of Israeli civilians,” the IDF said.

On Sunday night, IDF soldiers neutralized a Palestinian terrorist who opened fire at troops stationed at a checkpoint in northern Samaria.

The terrorist arrived by car at the Homesh checkpoint, located near the eponymous Jewish community north of Nablus (Shechem), and shot at the soldiers.

“The forces engaged, returned fire and neutralized the terrorist,” the army confirmed in a statement, adding that no Israelis were wounded.

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.

The figures, which were cross-checked against official data from Israel’s security services, included 3,668 rock-throwing attacks and 179 terrorist shootings. Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group stated.

Israeli security officials are aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria and are stepping up counter-terror operations in the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 19.