Zamir vows to strengthen border towns, including in Judea and Samaria

The Israel Defense Forces will work to strengthen border communities, including in Judea and Samaria, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday, speaking during a visit to soldiers engaged in a multi-day counter-terrorism operation in the Judea city of Hebron.

The ongoing raid in the Judea Regional Brigade area of deployment is part of a series of “proactive counter-terrorism operations in Judea and Samaria aimed at strengthening the defense of nearby communities,” Zamir said.

“We will continue to strengthen the communities along the borders and in Judea and Samaria,” he said, according to an official military readout.

The chief of IDF staff noted that there is “immense importance” of operations aimed at “suppressing terror and its infrastructure.”

Zamir added: “We must ensure the readiness and alertness of the soldiers for eruptive terrorist incidents without prior warning.”

As part of his visit to Judea, Zamir toured the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, the second-holiest site for Jews and believed to be the burial place of Judaism’s patriarchs and matriarchs, the military stated.

“The Tomb of the Patriarchs that I visited today is one of the holiest sites in Jewish tradition,” Zamir noted in his remarks, adding: “There is great importance in being familiar with our heritage and history as part of strengthening resilience and Jewish identity within the IDF.”

The army chief expressed “great appreciation” for IDF soldiers and additional security forces protecting the Hebron area.

Israeli security forces overnight Sunday launched the counter-terror operation in the Judean city’s Palestinian Jabal Johar neighborhood.

The raid is aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure, seizing illegal weapons and enhancing local security, per a military statement. The IDF, Israel Police, Border Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) are taking part in the mission.

In a separate operation, Israeli Border Police arrested a Palestinian explosives expert in the Samaria village of Shuweika this week, authorities said on Wednesday.

The suspect, identified as Fadi Bahati, was described as a key explosives manufacturer for a terror group operating in the Tulkarem area. He was arrested following intelligence from the Shin Bet in an operation carried out by undercover and uniformed Border Police forces under the IDF’s Ephraim Brigade.

Officers surrounded and raided his family home before making the arrest. He was later transferred to Shin Bet custody for questioning amid heightened Israeli security operations in northern Samaria.

In another operation on Wednesday, officers of the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District and IDF soldiers from the Jordan Valley Brigade arrested two 17-year-old Palestinians on suspicion of throwing rocks toward Israeli civilian vehicles on Route 90 in the Jordan Valley.

“On Wednesday afternoon, a report was received of stones being thrown at vehicles on Route 90,” the Israel Police stated. “Damage was caused to the vehicle’s window, which shattered. There were no bodily injuries.”

An “intelligence operation” was launched, which “led to the identification of the suspects within a short time,” it added.

The suspects, residents of the nearby Palestinian village of Al-Auja, were taken into to custody, the statement said, adding that their interrogation was ongoing.

On Tuesday, Israeli Border Police detained a Palestinian illegal at a construction site near Zamir’s home.

The infiltrator, from the terrorist hub of Tulkarem, was arrested along with his employer, a resident of the Arab-Israeli city of Qalansawe, located east of Netanya, the Israel Police said.

Officers were called after Zamir’s security detail reported hearing shouting in Arabic from the building site, which is located “especially close” to the chief of staff’s home, according to Channel 12 News.

“The illegal infiltrator and the suspect who employed him were arrested and transferred for questioning at a police station, and their case will continue to be handled in accordance with the law,” police stated.