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Tag: the West Bank

  • Katz says Palestinian trash burning nat’l security threat, okays rules for confiscating vehicles

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    Reportedly, Palestinians lack sufficient local landfills, requiring them to transport their waste by truck to other sites. However, truckers often dump the waste earlier to save time and money, and i

    Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday announced the approval of new government regulations providing for the confiscation of vehicles and equipment used for mass Palestinian trash burning in the West Bank, potentially causing respiratory harm.

    Katz said that after he and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the recent phenomenon of large-scale trash burning a national security threat on December 18, the Justice Ministry approved new regulations in line with their declaration.

    The defense minister said that IDF Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth will sign the final application of the new rules into law in the coming days.

    Reportedly, Palestinians lack sufficient local landfills, requiring them to transport their waste by truck to other sites. However, truckers often dump the waste earlier to save time and money, and it is then burned.

    Following a meeting with the IDF Civil Administration head for Judea and Samaria, Brig.-Gen. In mid-December, Hisham Ibrahim of the Health Ministry, along with a large number of mayors and regional council heads in both Green Line Israel and Judea and Samaria, Katz and Smotrich put forward a five-point plan to address the issue.

    People are pictured next to a fire burning in a large container as Palestinians clash with Israeli forces during a protest over tensions in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on May 29, 2022 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMAD TOROKMAN)

    Katz declares Palestinian trash burning a national security issue

    The first point in the plan was taking the legal and conceptual measures of declaring it a national security issue, rather than a mere nuisance.

    With that declaration, the goal was to change the focus and heavily increase the kinds of resources that can be brought to bear to confront the issue.

    Regarding the second point of the new policy, granting administrative powers to the IDF Central Command, which governs the West Bank, Katz said, “the decision we made less than a month ago…was not just a declaration – it was a commitment to action. Amending the Security Regulations is a direct implementation of that emergency decision.”

    “It gives the relevant authorities real teeth to act against actors who are polluting, endangering, and harming the citizens of Israel,” he added.

    Next, he stated, “We will harm their methods of operation, negate the economic profit, and create clear deterrence in the field.”

    The defense minister said that he would “not allow a reality in which Israeli citizens breathe poison” and would continue to act “until the phenomenon is uprooted from its roots.”

    Aspects of how exactly the new policy will cut back the phenomenon are unclear.

    An alternative outcome might be Israel just taking possession of trash-loaded trucks, or possibly that the trash might be burned in smaller increments closer to wherever it was produced. Even if the trash was burned in smaller increments and more locally, the distance between many Palestinian villages and Israel is small enough that the main issue would not necessarily be addressed.

    A third element of the new policy was that Israel will allocate funding, currently with no set limit, to bring aboard heavy vehicles and private companies that can both put out fires and remove and transfer the garbage to a landfill.

    It was unclear when this new policy would be rolled out in practice.

    Moreover, Katz and Smotrich had promised more aggressive enforcement and penalties for those who do burn trash in violation of the law.

    Last, a website for keeping track of all such trash fires is due to be established to better share information and enhance rapid reaction time to new incidents.

    Other officials also talked about establishing new landfills in the West Bank and put the budget for the new campaign at tens of millions of shekels

    There was also talk of fining the Palestinian Authority when Israel will need to act to address and clear Palestinians trash and of starting the campaign with the Palestinian village of Naalin.

    In October 2025 alone, the nonprofit Citizens for Clean Air hotline reportedly received 2,763 complaints nationwide about air pollution and smoke — 1,034 of them from Modi’in, accounting for roughly 37.5% of all reports.

    Since then, local leaders have been trying to raise the profile of the issue nationally, but these last few weeks have been the first serious move to address the problem.

    In November 2025, the Environmental Ministry issued a plan with many overlapping parameters.

    But Katz and Smotrich have far more power and latitude to throw resources at the issue, especially given the involvement of Palestinians, than the much smaller Environmental Ministry.

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  • Israel faces impending crisis on Egyptian border, West Bank as Gaza war looms

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    Israeli security forces seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, February 25, 2025. (photo credit: NASSER ISHTAYEH/FLASH90)

    The West Bank and the Egyptian border have the potential to boil over if certain threats are not addressed – and the issues are different in each place.

    While Israel has been fighting in Gaza for more than 23 months, other borders and areas have grown increasingly unstable and pose a threat. This is particularly true when it comes to the West Bank and Egyptian border.

    Both areas have the potential to boil over if certain threats are not addressed. The issues are different in each place.

    In the West Bank, the challenge is keeping a low level insurgency weakened. Israel has successfully checked the attempt by groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad to carve out a zone of control in the northern West Bank. This took several years to accomplish, from roughly 2021 to early 2025.

    The attacks by groups in Jenin and Nablus and other places were fueled by illegal arms that have been flowing the West Bank. Large numbers of M-4 or M-16 type rifles as well as modern handguns have been moving into the hands of terrorist groups.

    A new phenomenon in the West Bank is the attempt by terrorist groups to build small rockets. This is a new problem and one that mirrors what happened in Gaza in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As such it is clear that the terrorists are seeking to innovate and change. In the early 2000s the main threat in the West Bank came from suicide bombers and some guns.

    Joint police-IDF operation foils smuggling of over 30 weapons (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

    Joint police-IDF operation foils smuggling of over 30 weapons (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

    Now, things are changing. The enemy is changing and seeking to find ways to outsmart Israel. Recent attacks all show this to be the case. They usually involve several terrorists who are armed.

    Threat of weapons smuggling across Egyptian border rises

    While the West Bank is going to need continuous monitoring, a related threat comes from smuggling across the Egyptian border. Recent reports indicate that the size of the smuggling effort has increased and it relies on things such as drones to smuggle guns or parts of guns.

    The number of incidents is growing and it appears to mean that there are numerous incidents daily. The full size of this elephant is probably not known, because any one smuggling attempt that is prevented may only be part of the larger problem. In essence, it’s possible we are only seeing the proverbial elephant legs and not the whole animal.

    Egypt has been focused on getting a Gaza deal. It also doesn’t want Gazans being pushed into Sinai. It has deployed more forces but it is focused on Gaza. It’s possible that smuggling networks that once sought to help Hamas in Gaza are now shifting operations. This is fueling gun violence in Israel. Most of the killings are in the Arab community but this will one day boil over.

    Israel thus faces other threats closer to home. Israel was focused for many years on “third circle” threats such as Iran. Israel prided itself on precision airstrikes and also its ability to try to prepare for dealing with Iran. Gaza was neglected and Hamas was underestimated. Now Hamas is largely weakened in Gaza.

    However, as Israel fought in Gaza for 23 months and poured resources into the fight there, it is possible other areas closer to the center are being ignored. What this means, is perhaps the Egyptian border and the West Bank and weapon smuggling networks that feed weapons into Arab communities in Israel and the West Bank, are a serious problem.

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  • Israel detains four foreign nationals who illegally crossed into Israel from Jordan

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    The unarmed individuals may have been migrant workers.

    Four foreign nationals were arrested by the IDF on Friday evening after they were caught attempting to illegally cross into Israel via the border from Jordan in the Yarmouk area.

    The four were taken in for questioning.

    Army Radio reported that the unarmed detained parties had been migrant workers.

    The attempted infiltration came only a day after two soldiers were killed by a terrorist entering the West Bank from Jordan. The terrorist, who was driving humanitarian aid to Gaza, opened fire on the soldiers after entering through the Allenby Bridge crossing.

    An Israeli military vehicle waits at a barrier, at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, September 8, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)

    Entering Israel through Jordan

    The Jordan border has been a frequently used route for both undocumented migrant workers to enter Israel and as a route for human trafficking, as the war has frequently restricted access to Israel through air travel.

    While increasingly popular, the journey carries significant risks. In February, 47-year-old Indian national Thomas Gabriel Perera was killed by Jordanian security forces while attempting to cross into Israel for work.

    The family of Perera claimed that he was the victim of a job scam, and was lured to Jordan for a well-paying job – one that failed to materialize. After failing to find work, Perera’s family said he tried to enter Israel in search of employment.

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  • Hamas deploys terror forces, resources to West Bank, Israeli security sources claim

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    Hamas ramps up operations in the West Bank, expanding terror infrastructure and planning attacks against Israelis, while IDF operations intensify.

    Security sources claimed that Hamas has been deploying terror forces and resources to carry out attacks across the West Bank, Walla learned on Wednesday. According to estimates from the IDF’s Central Command, several incidents involving terror infrastructure, which Hamas has been trying to expand in recent months, are expected to be uncovered and announced soon.

    In addition, Central Command estimates indicate that IDF operations within refugee camps in the northern West Bank, along with their territorial presence, has caused Hamas’s terror infrastructure in the region to either move, or re-establish itself elsewhere in other areas of the West Bank.

    In light of the high-alert warnings of impending terror attacks, Brig.-Gen. Kobi Heller, the incoming commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division, increased the scale of arrest operations against those suspected of terror activities, including overnight operations.

    In addition, Hamas representatives in Gaza, the West Bank, and abroad, are channeling funds through various methods to recruit operatives, smuggle weapons and ammunition, and organize terror cells to plan and carry out a variety of attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, according to military sources.

    Hamas is now looking at three tactical arenas before carrying out these attacks. First, exacting a price from Israel for its decision to capture Gaza City, second, preparing for the UN General Assembly where the Palestinian Authority hopes to gain recognition as a state, and third, their ongoing goal to harm Israelis.

    Palestinian security personnel seen in the West Bank city of Nablus, December 27, 2024 (credit: Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

    Warnings of attacks are coming at a time when security apparatuses are deteriorating, due to the difficulty of paying full salaries to police officers, security officials have warned. These officers, who wear the PA’s uniforms, are exposed to temptations from terrorist organizations and rampant incitement on social media.

    The current situation is that tens of thousands of civil servants are not receiving their salaries, Israel is preventing Palestinian workers from entering the country, and additionally, it is not advancing the establishment of factories in West Bank industrial zones.

    PIJ claims last week’s Tulkarm attack on IDF vehicle

    An Israeli armored personnel carrier ran over a bomb in the area of Tulkarm near the Nitzani Oz crossing on last week.

    Two soldiers were reportedly lightly wounded, and the vehicle was damaged. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

    IDF troops have imposed a lockdown on the city and are carrying out roadblocks and inspections in the area, the military said.

    TPS and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.

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  • Police arrest Palestinian West Bank resident for alleged ties to Iranian agent

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    The 24-year-old suspect was apprehended on August 6 during a joint operation by the Israel Police officers from the Etzion police station in the West Bank and the IDF.

    A Palestinian woman from the West Bank town of Beit Umar was arrested in early August on suspicion of connections to an Iranian agent, N12 reported on Monday.

    The 24-year-old suspect was apprehended on August 6 during a joint operation by the Israel Police officers from the Etzion police station in the West Bank and the IDF.

    After her arrest, the suspect was brought in for interrogation.

    Since then, an investigation has been conducted in cooperation with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and other intelligence agencies.

    Suspect carried out assignments

    According to the allegations, she not only maintained contact with an Iranian agent but also carried out various assignments on his behalf, N12 reported.

    The Israeli police pointing towards the inside of a car. (credit: ISRAEL POLICE)

    During questioning, she admitted to some of the charges and provided details about her connections with the Iranian agent and the tasks she had completed, according to N12. As the interrogation continued, she fully confessed to all the accusations.

    At the same time, the Military Prosecutor’s Office requested further investigations, including technological tests and additional intelligence-gathering operations, to strengthen the evidence against her.

    As a result, the Military Court extended her detention by eight more days to allow the investigation to continue, N12 added.

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