Israel’s defense establishment is monitoring the security situation across Judea and Samaria, fearing a domino effect that could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority following the ouster of President Bashar Assad of Syria, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.
“We are closely and vigilantly monitoring what is happening. We fear unrest, rapid deterioration and a contagion effect like we saw in Syria,” unnamed security sources told the Israel Defense Forces radio station.
According to Army Radio’s sources, the P.A.’s collapse might cause “a wave of terrorism and a complete loss of stability in the area.”
Attention should be paid to the past week’s armed clashes between P.A. security forces and Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Samaria, including in Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus, according to the security establishment.
Army Radio also noted increased efforts by the Islamic Republic to set the area on fire, noting Iran has set its eyes on Judea and Samaria after IDF offensives weakened its terrorist proxies in Gaza and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hamas in recent days called on Palestinians to take to the streets and demonstrate against the P.A.’s alleged crackdown on terrorism, with Jenin residents heeding the protest call, the report noted.
In a statement this week, the terrorist group condemned “the continued actions of the security services of the P.A. in pursuing resistance fighters and those wanted by the occupation, as well as the ongoing targeting of them in all governorates of the West Bank, especially in Jenin.”
Palestinian Authority security forces entered the Jenin camp—a hotbed of Iranian-backed terrorism—in large numbers for the first time in nearly a decade on Monday after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunmen hijacked a P.A. “military” truck and hoisted their flags on the vehicle.
Palestinian Authority security officials convened a meeting at its Jenin governorate headquarters on Sunday night, in an attempt to defuse tensions with local terrorists, Anwar Rajab, a spokesman for the P.A. security forces, told the French AFP news agency.
P.A. forces in Jenin reportedly killed at least one Palestinian this week. During a subsequent funeral procession, terrorists could be heard chanting, “The regime must fall. [Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud] Abbas and his entourage must fall. The people want to end the regime.” They praised the Iranian regime.
Also on Tuesday, Arab media reported that Islamic Jihad terrorists from Tulkarem in western Samaria shot at the headquarters of the P.A. police in the city, lightly wounding two officers.
Israel’s security forces recently thwarted an attempt by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle powerful weapons to Palestinian terrorist cells in Jenin, the IDF said on Nov. 27.
Among the weapons seized by Israel were 40 standard large Claymore mines, including detonators and wireless activation systems; 37 handguns; 33 improvised Claymore mines; 24 RPG-18 and RPG-22 rockets; 20 60mm mortar shells; seven Hunter sniper rifles; six RPG-7 launchers; six M16 rifles and 1 M4 rifle, along with ammunition; three 107mm rockets; and two 60mm mortar barrels, the military said.
The statement noted that Israeli security forces in recent months have “identified attempts by Iranian forces to resume smuggling advanced weapons into Israel, intended for the Judea and Samaria area.
“This is part of an ongoing Iranian campaign to destabilize the region’s security by arming terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria, to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” it continued.
In June, Palestinian Authority security officials told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster that Iranian-backed terrorist groups might be able to fire advanced rockets at central Israel from Samaria within a year.
The Islamic Republic continues to instigate terrorism in Judea and Samaria by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing American, Israeli and Iranian officials.
The majority of the weapons smuggled into Judea and Samaria are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the U.S. and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.
In the first six months of 2024, Judea and Samaria saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).
During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.
Terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in Judea and Samaria between January and July, the rescue group said.