Israeli Defense Forces say the maneuvers are part of a response to Palestinian terror groups.
By Catholics for Catholics
In a sign of escalating violence in the West Bank, Israeli forces propelled a large counterterror operation in the Northern area, according to The Times of Israel.
The Sin Bet security agency said the Israeli maneuvers were happening in various Palestinian towns and villages in the northeast part of the West Bank. The places included al-Aqaba, Tammum and Tubas.
“The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet won’t allow terror to become established in the area and are working actively to thwart it,” the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement.
The Times reported that the raids were being undertaken by the tantamount of three IDF brigades, and included forces from the Commando Brigade and Samaria and Menashe regional brigades, alongside Border Police officers.
Israeli forces blocked several roads with bulldozers that created mounds of earth and enforced a curfew, Palestinian media reported.
In addition, the military maneuvers included Israeli Air Force helicopters, with the IDF reporting that strikes were carried out before the troops moved in the towns, to “isolate the area and cordon it off.”
The military operation was enforced in response to efforts by Palestinian terror groups to establish a presence in the area, the IDF said in a statement.
Once the airstrikes were carried out, ground troops started to scan dozens of buildings and interrogate suspects in the towns, amid a search for terror operatives and weapons.
At one location, the IDF said soldiers located a surveillance camera station used by terror operatives, along with cash.
About two dozen people were detained in the area, including Samir Basharat, the mayor of Tammun, reported the Palestinian media.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, violence in the West Bank has increased. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
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