Israeli army, Shin Bet begin ‘large-scale’ operation against West Bank resistance
Hebrew media reports say resistance groups in the occupied West Bank have been working to strengthen their forces
The Israeli army, Shin Bet security service, and border police announced the start of a broad military operation in the occupied West Bank on 26 November, aimed at rooting out “terror” across the territory.
“The IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police forces began operating (Wednesday) as part of a large-scale operation to thwart terrorism in the northern Samaria area,” the Israeli army and Shin Bet said in a joint statement, using the biblical name for the occupied West Bank.
The statement went on to say that Tel Aviv “will not allow the establishment of terrorism in the area and [is] proactively working to thwart it,” adding that more details will be announced later.
The new Israeli operation began with a series of arrest raids near the city of Tubas and the nearby towns of Tamoun and Aqaba.
The army later sent large reinforcements toward Tubas, as helicopters flew over the area.
Clashes have erupted between the invading forces and the Palestinian resistance. “Our fighters are confronting occupation forces on several fronts … showering the enemy forces with heavy bursts of bullets and explosive devices. Our heroes also managed to detonate a number of landmines on the paths of the invading enemy vehicles, causing confirmed injuries,” the Tubas Brigade of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement’s Quds Brigades said on Wednesday.
The new Israeli assault coincides with a recent surge in resistance activity in the occupied territory.
“The operation was launched in response to efforts by Palestinian terror groups to establish a presence in the area, alongside an uptick in the number of terror incidents there,” Israeli military sources told the Times of Israel on Wednesday.
Sources told Hebrew newspaper Maariv that Israeli authorities have observed attempts by West Bank resistance groups to restructure and strengthen their forces.
Two days before the start of the operation, heavy clashes erupted between the Israeli army and the resistance in Nablus. Israeli forces carried out a destructive raid in the city and assassinated a resistance fighter who was behind the killing of two Israeli soldiers last year.
Settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank has surged dramatically in the past few months. Palestinian farmland and crops are constantly set ablaze, and civilians are attacked on a near-daily basis.
Land-grabs and settlement expansion continue unabated. The Israeli army also remains deployed in several occupied West Bank camps, displacing Palestinians and destroying infrastructure daily.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been uprooted from their homes in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year.
Since October 2023, Israeli troops and settlers have killed over 1,000 Palestinians across the occupied territory, including over 200 minors.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government also continues to advance plans for the annexation of the West Bank.
“An explosion in the occupied West Bank is imminent and the outbreak of a comprehensive third Intifada is closer than ever,” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said last week, stressing that the continuously escalating violence can no longer be tolerated.
“Accumulated Palestinian anger will erupt like molten lava against the occupation,” the PFLP statement added.
Last month, the Shin Bet said it thwarted an Iranian attempt to smuggle large quantities of advanced weapons for the resistance in the occupied West Bank.