It is essential that Israel focus on the rising terrorist threats in the West Bank. Palestinian terrorist groups are seeking to exploit the war in Gaza and tensions with Hezbollah to increase their arsenals in the West Bank and erode the Palestinian Authority.
Following the Hamas attack on October 7 there have been increased threats from the West Bank. Israel has operated to try to stymie those threats via arrests of Hamas activists and other terrorists. However, a recent upsurge in violence in the West Bank illustrates that the threat is growing and it could spill over.
The spillover from the West Bank could occur in various ways. First of all, it could affect Palestinian cities and lead to the weakening of the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority already faces many threats from groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It also has internal voices who backed the Hamas genocidal massacre and have tried to play both sides, by pretending to be moderates who can work toward peace, and backing Hamas terrorists.
Meanwhile the average people in the West Bank have also been force-fed propaganda about how Hamas has been able to achieve deals with Israel, such as the release of Palestinian prisoners. All of this creates a toxic mix that could lead to more support for extremist groups.
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) eliminated terrorists in Balata camp in Nablus last week. The terrorists in Balata had planned to carry out an “imminent, large-scale terrorist attack,” the IDF said. Balata is a hot bed of terrorism, like many of the congested Palestinian former refugee camps that have become neighborhoods in various cities.
International organizations often turn a blind eye to this extremism, and as in Gaza, they have not confronted the extremism and terror threats in places like Balata. This means the tragedy of Gaza is repeated in the West Bank, as groups like Hamas, PIJ, and others prey on the people and push them to attack Israel.
For instance, the terrorist eliminated last week in Balata was named Amed Abdullah Abu-Shalal and he was taken out with a precision airstrike. The IDF and Shin Bet should be applauded for this precision and taking out these threats before they grow. The IDF has said that Abu-Shalal was responsible for carrying out a number of terrorist attacks over the last year. These terrorists threaten areas throughout Israel and Jewish communities far from Balata. For example, one attack that had its origins in Balata, struck Jerusalem.
Balata, in Nablus, is only one of several terrorist centers in the West Bank. Another is Tulkarm.
Last week
Last week the IDF also spent more than 40 hours in a counter-terror operation in that city. Our forces examined numerous buildings and found more than 400 explosive devices and seized illegal weapons. Five manufacturing sites where explosives were made were also uncovered. This shows that the kind of terrorist infrastructure that Hamas created in Gaza, is now popping up in the West Bank.
We must fight this terrorist infrastructure and the groups behind it with the utmost severity. It is a clear and present danger to the citizens of Israel. We have spent 100 days fighting in Gaza after the consequences of not taking Hamas seriously led to the massacre of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 240 others. We must not underestimate the threats that can also grow out of cities in the West Bank.
To defeat West Bank terror we must be vigilant. That means dismantling not just the weapons labs and targeting the terror leaders, but also tracking all the weapons smuggling that brings modern rifles to the terrorists in the West Bank.
Over the last year and a half, it has become clear that there has been a flood of illegal weapons – primarily M-16 style rifles – to cities in the West Bank. The smuggling networks must be disbanded. The weapons must be traced, and if it is found that they have been stolen from places in Israel, we must investigate and prosecute those responsible.
The illegal weapons trade, like the Hamas threat, has been ignored for too long. The West Bank requires focus and investment to ensure that the extremists can’t seize control of cities and that we are not just playing “whack-a-mole” against terrorists in various cities.