IDF chief orders army to prep 'significant' counter-terror operations in Judea and Samaria

(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi ordered the military on Monday to prepare for counter-terror operations in Judea and Samaria amid an uptick in terror following the ceasefire in Gaza.

“In addition to the intense defensive preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be prepared for significant operations in Judea and Samaria in the coming days in order to get ahead of and catch the terrorists before they reach our citizens,” Halevi stated following a situational assessment.

Halevi’s remarks came hours after one IDF soldier was killed and four others were injured, one seriously, by a roadside bomb in the Arab village of Tammun, northeast of Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria.

Concerns are also growing in Jerusalem that the release of hundreds of Palestinian terrorists as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas—many of whom will be allowed to return to Judea, Samaria and the eastern part of the country’s capital—has the potential to ignite more terror in the area.

Hamas in a statement issued on Tuesday morning called on all terrorists in Judea and Samaria to “rise in a sweeping wave of anger to deter the settlers” after protests against the ceasefire deal led to riots and the torching of Palestinian structures by Jewish extremists.

Simcha Rothman, a lawmaker for Israel’s Religious Zionism Party that is part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, told JNS on Monday he was concerned about an escalation of terrorism.

“We demanded to add to the goals of the war taking down the infrastructure of terror in Judea and Samaria, and I think the State of Israel must do everything to make Judea and Samaria safe—not only for its residents, but also for the sake of the entire state of Israel,” he stated.

“We know the distances between the terror cities in Judea and Samaria and major cities in Israel, and those distances are shorter than from Gaza to Ofakim or Netivot,” he continued.

Speaking from Washington D.C., where he was attending President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Rothman told JNS that he believes the new administration will not allow Hamas to return to power in Gaza.