Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Thursday ordered the alert level raised in Judea and Samaria ahead of the Jewish holidays, citing tensions in the area and directing the military to prepare additional forces for rapid reinforcement.
Zamir placed the headquarters of an additional active-duty division on heightened readiness and ordered units and battalions prepared for immediate activation in the sector, according to the IDF. He also said the military would maintain full multi-front readiness during the holiday period, with no operational stand-downs or reductions in troop levels.
Israeli security forces apprehended on Sunday the terrorist who carried out a stabbing attack near al-Auja, north of Jericho in the Jordan Valley, the IDF said. The 24-year-old Israeli victim sustained moderate injuries and was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem after receiving treatment at the scene.
The military in late July apprehended more than 200 wanted Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and seized funds purposed for terrorism worth tens of thousands of shekels.
Also in July, two Israelis were killed and six wounded in a terrorist shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria after a group of Israelis hiking in the area was attacked by Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday night that the Land of Israel “will remain ours,” speaking at an event marking his government’s achievements in Judea and Samaria, according to his office.
“Today, many of our brothers and sisters around the world understand: this is our land,” he told Judea and Samaria leaders at the event, in remarks translated from Hebrew.
“And when I say our land, every Jewish man and every Jewish woman, the door is open, we are waiting for you,” he continued. “In the State of Israel, in the heart of the Land of Israel.”
Those at the event, Netanyahu added, were “preparing the ground for a very large aliyah [immigration wave] that will come.”
The outgoing government has established and regularized 104 communities and 160 farms, Netanyahu said, adding that more were on the way.
Part of the work was done under the Biden administration and part under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, said Netanyahu.
“It isn’t easy, it’s never easy. The Land of Israel is acquired through suffering,” he said. “Sometimes also through smiles, sometimes also through arguments, but it is being acquired by us. We are not giving up, we have a vision, this is our land, and it will remain ours.”
