The Israeli military has concentrated its attention on terrorist cells in the West Bank in the last several days, taking on Hamas in the town of Jenin and in the Jordan Valley.
There has long been a Hamas presence in the Palestinian towns of the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, which is run by the rival Fatah movement, has at times acted against Hamas, but often turns a blind eye or lacks the capacity to take effective action against increasingly well-armed cells.
The West Bank has been relatively quiet, compared to Gaza and the northern bother, but Israel is concerned that it could become the next major front in the ongoing war.
Israel is also accusing Iran of smuggling weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists via Jordan to the West Bank (which Israel refers to by the Biblical names of Judea and Samaria).
This week, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took action. In a statement, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (ISA) said:
During the first day [Wednesday] of the joint IDF, ISA, and Israel Border Police counterterrorism operation in Jenin and Tulkarm, 12 terrorists were eliminated, more than 10 wanted suspects were apprehended, dozens of explosive devices were dismantled and weapons were confiscated.
In a counterterrorism activity conducted by the Yamam, ISA, and IDF soldiers in Tulkarm, five terrorists hiding inside a mosque were eliminated. Among the terrorists that were eliminated was Muhhamad Jabber, “Abu Shujaa”, the head of a terrorist network in Nur Shams who had been involved in numerous terror attacks.
The security forces dismantled dozens of explosive devices that were planted under the roads intended to be used in attacks on the forces, and terrorists were eliminated in IAF strikes and exchanges of fire.
During the counterterrorism activity, the soldiers apprehended terror suspects and located and confiscated weapons, including M-16 machine guns, ammunition and additional military equipment.
During the counterterrorism activity, an IDF soldier was moderately injured. He was evacuated to a hospital for further treatment and his family was notified.
In a subsequent statement, the IDF said:
Today (Thursday), the IDF and ISA completed a counterterrorism operation in the area of Far’a in the Jordan Valley with the objective of foiling terror, exposing terrorist infrastructure and eliminating armed terrorists in the area.
At the beginning of the operation, the soldiers arrived in an IAF helicopter and operated to encircle the area. During the counterterrorism operation, an IAF aircraft struck and eliminated an armed terrorist cell inside a vehicle.During the operation, with the direction of the ISA, IDF soldiers used a drone to locate an explosives laboratory and operations center embedded inside a mosque in the area. Weapons, explosive devices and additional military equipment were also located inside the mosque.
Furthermore, the IDF soldiers encountered armed terrorists in exchanges of fire, during which hits on the terrorists were identified. Additionally, terrorists hurled explosive devices at the soldiers. No IDF injuries were reported.
As part of the operation, the soldiers searched and questioned individuals suspected of terror activity and confiscated various weapons. The confiscated weapons were transferred to the security forces for further investigation.
In addition, on Friday, Border Police killed senior Hamas commander Wissam Hazem in a shootout near Jenin.
The United Kingdom said that it was “deeply concerned” about Israel’s operations in the West Bank, and the Biden administration chose this week to slap more sanctions on settlers in the West Bank, sending a message of disapproval.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
