by JNS Staff
The military’s operations in northern Samaria over the past year led to a drop of more than 80% in terrorism, the defense minister said
Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the military on Wednesday to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale terrorist infiltration in Judea and Samaria, similar to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre.
Katz’s announcement followed the minister’s visit to the Judea and Samaria Division headquarters near the town of Beit El, just north of Jerusalem.
Katz said he ordered top Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police commanders to prepare a response to an Oct. 7-style attack “by jihadist elements” on towns in Judea and Samaria and along the security barrier.
During the visit, Katz received a briefing and held a security assessment with Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, OC Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller and Judea and Samaria Border Police Cmdr. Niso Guetta.
Katz told participants that IDF operations in northern Samaria over the past year had been effective, leading to a drop of more than 80% in terrorism in the area. The counter-terror campaign included evacuating residents, targeting terrorists and maintaining an ongoing Israeli military presence.
According to the defense minister, the operations should be duplicated in additional cities and villages under control of the Palestinian Authority.
He said that as in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces would remain on the ground in P.A.-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria to “serve as a clear buffer between the population and terrorist elements.”
Katz ordered officials to move ahead as quickly as possible with plans to relocate several IDF military bases to Samaria’s north, calling it a “historic correction” with both security and settlement significance, and saying it would strengthen security and Jerusalem’s grip on the region.
More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Palestinian terrorists based in Judea and Samaria could carry out a significant terrorist attack similar to the Oct. 7 massacre, according to a survey the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs published on Feb. 18, 2025.
In September 2024, prosecutors filed an indictment against a member of a terrorist squad based in the northern Samaria city of Jenin who made plans to carry out an Oct. 7-style attack in nearby Jewish communities.
The indictment accused Osama Bani Fadl and other terrorist operatives of making serious preparations for a mass slaughter of Jewish residents of northern Samaria, including by infiltrating villages atop vehicles.
Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that the civilian communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to Israel’s security, according to a poll the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11.
Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Jerusalem to extend its full legal sovereignty over the region, according to a survey from January 2025.
JNS Staff
Source: https://www.jns.org/katz-tells-idf-to-be-ready-for-oct-7-style-attacks-in-judea-and-samaria/
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