IDF admits to new threat in occupied West Bank

An Israel Defence Forces commander has admitted that his soldiers in the occupied West Bank are facing a “new operational reality”. It can be described as a threat to the IDF’s freedom of operation, claimed Brigadier-General Tamir Yadai on news website Arutz Sheva.

According to Yadai, security threats in the occupied Palestinian territories have been on the rise, especially during the IDF’s operations to arrest Palestinians. “The threats that are currently trending upward include more resistance during arrests, including live fire at times, and better developed terror infrastructures,” he said.

“We increasingly encounter cases like the terrorists who were eliminated this week in Yata, armed terrorists with explosives in the vehicle, as well as explosives laboratories,” he added. “There are threats that we want to prepare the forces for so that we will not be caught unprepared.” The general was speaking in the context of a Central Command training day on counterterrorism.

The media did not report if the officers attending the seminar were made aware that people living under military occupation have every legal and moral right to resist that occupation and should not, therefore, be dismissed as “terrorists”.

However, Maariv newspaper noted more than a week ago that the IDF’s command in the West Bank has recorded a rise in plans for resistance operations against Israeli targets. The army mentioned operations similar to the one carried out near Qalqilya two months ago when IDF Sergeant Tomer Hazan was abducted and killed.