Israel Border Police on Monday raided a business in a Palestinian village in northern Samaria and seized more than 100 unmanned aerial vehicles, the Israel Police said on Tuesday.
The operation took place in Kafr Qallil, near Nablus (Shechem). Officers searched a toy store and discovered 111 drones of various types that are prohibited for possession and sale in Judea and Samaria under an Israel Defense Forces military order, according to the police statement.
The shop owner, a Palestinian in his 30s from Nablus, was arrested at the scene and taken for questioning at a police station in the nearby city of Ariel. The drones were confiscated.
Police said the raid was part of an “offensive operation” targeting illegal weapons trade. The raid was conducted with precise intelligence guidance provided by troops of the IDF’s Samaria Brigade deployment area.
A November 2025 exercise held by the Israeli military in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley showed that the military was unprepared for an attack by unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Nov. 10-12, 2025, drill included 40 operational scenarios, 11 of which involved gliders and attack drones. Participating forces failed to effectively neutralize the UAVs, senior officers told the Makor Rishon newspaper.
Although soldiers struggled with the UAV threat early in the drill, troops adapted by increasing aerial vigilance and avoiding movement in large groups to reduce potential casualties, according to the report.
The drill—which was based on scenarios more extreme than the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault, as well as attacks observed in the Russia-Ukraine war—used drones with water balloons, simulating explosive warheads. Small drones were employed to simulate attempts to lure IDF soldiers and the destruction of critical infrastructure, as well as airstrikes on rear command posts, armored vehicles, casualty collection points and special-forces teams traveling in open vehicles.
