Israel should resort to a temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents from the West Bank, if need be, to facilitate the destruction of terror infrastructure in the area, Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Wednesday.
Referring to the large overnight IDF operation in the West Bank towns of Jenin and Tulkarm, which saw hundreds of IDF soldiers carrying out military activities in the area, Katz wrote, "The IDF is operating with force since the night, in the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarm to thwart Islamic-Iranian terror infrastructure that was set up there."
צה"ל פועל מהלילה בעוצמה במחנות הפליטים ג'נין וטול כרם לסיכול תשתיות טרור איסלמיות-אירניות שהוקמו במקום. איראן פועלת להקים חזית טרור מזרחית נגד ישראל ביו"ש, לפי מודל עזה ולבנון, באמצעות מימון וחימוש מחבלים והברחת נשק מתקדם מירדן.עלינו לטפל באיום בדיוק כפי שמטפלים בתשתיות הטרור…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 28, 2024
'Iran acting to create an eastern terror front'
"Iran is acting to create an eastern terror front in the West Bank against Israel, modeling Gaza and Lebanon, by funding and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weaponry from Jordan," he added.
Katz specified that Israel must "take care of the threat in the exact way terror infrastructure in Gaza is taken care of, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians and every other necessary step."
The foreign minister characterized the fight against terrorism in the West Bank as a war that Israel must win.
On Wednesday, the IDF, Border Police, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) carried out a counterterrorism operation in the West Bank areas of Tulkarm and Jenin.
The military operation began in response to the recent terror attacks and the attempted suicide bombing that occurred in Tel Aviv on August 18, which is suspected to have been planned in the Tulkarm area.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.