As Israel continues counterterror operations in Samaria, security forces have killed about 55 terrorists and arrested 380 more in January, the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said on Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces launched an ongoing counterterror raid in the Jenin refugee camp on Jan. 19. It has since expanded to the Palestinian city Tulkarem and an area of Samaria known as “the Five Villages.” The army’s Jenin raid, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” comes on the heels of the Palestinian Authority’s failed crackdown in the Jenin refugee camp. Raids expanded to Tulkarem and Tubas.
Troops have seized weapons, explosives, and uncovered a bomb-making laboratory.
On Tuesday morning, two Israeli soldiers were killed and six injured when a Palestinian terrorist infiltrated an army compound in the Jordan Valley near the Palestinian village Tayasir and opened fire. Killed in the attack were Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofer Yung, 39, from Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Tzvika Friedman, 43, from Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv.
In response, leaders of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria called on the government to stop releasing imprisoned Palestinian terrorists and to extend Israeli sovereignty to their communities.
“The Israeli government has a duty to decisively defeat Arab terrorism and to announce the application of Israeli sovereignty, which will prevent the establishment of a terror state in the heart of the country,” said the Yesha Council in a statement. The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization for all the communities in Judea and Samaria, representing the interests of around 500,000 Israelis.
Soldiers in Jenin also found the personal belongings of a Border Police officer killed in the Jenin refugee camp one year ago.
Since the October 7 attacks, Israeli forces have arrested 6,000 wanted Palestinians in counterterror operations in Judea and Samaria. Around 40 percent were affiliated with Hamas.
Image - IDF