Israel Defense Forces soldiers discovered and destroyed an explosives lab used by Palestinian terrorist organizations in the western Samaria city of Tulkarem on June 4, the military revealed on Monday morning.
The forces found “gas canisters and materials for manufacturing explosive devices” in the lab, according to the IDF statement.
On Jan. 21, the IDF announced the launch of “Operation Iron Wall,” which seeks to neutralize the threat posed by terrorist hotbeds in Judea and Samaria. The ongoing counter-terrorism operation marks a change in Jerusalem’s security strategy, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has stated.
Tulkarem—a Palestinian Authority city that borders the Samaria security barrier—abuts the Jewish state’s densely populated coastal plain east of Netanya and is eight miles from the Mediterranean Sea.
The IDF has intensified its raids in the area following the failed Feb. 20 bus bombings near Tel Aviv. Three empty buses exploded, and bombs were found on two others in what is being investigated as a coordinated terrorist attack. At least one of the bombs reportedly bore a note, in Arabic and Hebrew, that stated: “Revenge from the Tulkarem refugee camp.”
Counter-terrorism raids in Tulkarem have since led to the discovery of several labs to manufacture IEDs, including roadside explosive devices and pipe bombs, as well as a site for the production of suicide drones.
In separate operations over the weekend, the IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police arrested wanted terrorists and confiscated terrorists’ weapons throughout Judea and Samaria, the military stated.
As part of the operations, 35 wanted Palestinians were detained, while firearms, military gear and terrorist funds were seized.
In the village of al-Mughair in the Binyamin region of Samaria, two terrorists responsible for stoning attacks on Israeli civilians were arrested, and tens of thousands of shekels in funds were seized.
In Qalqilya in western Samaria, another Palestinian terrorist who had thrown rocks at Israeli forces during a riot was arrested, the IDF said.
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.
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.
The figures, which were cross-checked against official data from Israel’s security services, included 3,668 instances of rock-throwing; 843 attacks with Molotov cocktails; 671 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers; 526 explosive charges; 364 cases of arson and 179 terrorist shootings.
