The Israeli army raises the level of alert in the West Bank ahead of the Jewish holidays, amid growing fears of a widespread security deterioration against the backdrop of the escalation of what the Israeli security establishment describes as “national crime” and “Jewish terrorism,” while it was decided to place an additional regular squad on standby for rapid recall if the situation gets out of control.
According to a report by journalist Nir Dvori on the Israeli Channel 12, the Israeli army decided to strengthen its forces in the West Bank and raise the level of preparedness ahead of the October holidays.
In recent weeks, the army had studied the option of reducing the size of the forces with the aim of allowing reserve soldiers to leave during the holiday period, but security developments on the ground prompted the military leadership to retreat from this approach and raise the level of readiness instead of lowering it.
The Israeli Army Chief of Staff decided to keep an additional regular division in a “state of readiness for call-up” for the benefit of the West Bank front, in the event of a widespread security escalation or deterioration in the region.
According to the army, the decision came against the backdrop of the escalation of “national crime” and “Jewish terrorism,” in addition to fears of a broad Palestinian response, which security officials say is gradually beginning to take shape.
The plan also includes preparing to carry out immediate action and reducing the readiness times for an additional number of operational units if the current reinforcements are not sufficient, while attention also remains directed to other arenas.
In parallel, officials in the Israeli security establishment this week directed sharp criticism at Knesset member Zvi Sukkot, against the backdrop of an incident in the West Bank during which he destroyed memorials.
Security authorities accused him of concealing his intentions from the Israeli army, using military force to carry out a political move, and endangering the soldiers who were charged with protecting him.
Senior officials in the security establishment warn that events of this kind may contribute to igniting a widespread confrontation in the region.
These warnings were also presented during a meeting held this week with the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials of the security establishment, and focused on the danger of explosion in the West Bank and on incidents of “national crime” and “Jewish terrorism.”
During the meeting, Netanyahu was presented with a stern warning that said: “In the next two months, if we do not know how to control the situation properly, the West Bank may turn against the State of Israel.”
A very senior official in the Israeli army said that the difficulty of enforcing the law is also related to the support that some field authorities receive.
He added: “There is a group that wants chaos. The support of part of the local leadership in the West Bank and parties in the government makes enforcing the law very difficult.”
He continued: “The leaders in the field feel that they are alone.”
Thus, the Israeli army enters the holiday period dealing with the West Bank as one of the most sensitive fronts, in light of internal fears that isolated local incidents will turn into a broader wave of escalation that will be difficult to contain.
