Israeli Officers Expect Hebron Pullout After Election Day Amid Dispute With Political Leaders

Israeli forces are likely to leave Hebron after the elections, according to assessments by officers in the IDF Central Command. The officers say the operation has run its course and is creating tensions that act as "fuel" for incitement and copycat terrorist attacks.

The officers described military activity over the past 24 hours as pointless, saying it is eroding the legitimacy of IDF operations in the area. They pointed in particular to the failure to find weapons or terrorists in the neighborhood concerned.

Walla reported on Monday that a disagreement had emerged over whether to continue the operation. On one side were IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth and 98th Division commander Brig.-Gen. Meni Liberty. On the other were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

During the operation, IDF forces evacuated hundreds of Palestinian families from the neighborhood where the attackers behind Friday's deadly assault on a temporary IDF checkpoint in Hebron had come from. Troops also took over buildings and searched hundreds of structures. They did not find weapons, military equipment, ammunition, explosives laboratories or weapons manufacturing sites.

Given those results, senior IDF officials argued for pulling out of the neighborhood, saying the operation had achieved all it could. The prime minister and the defense minister insisted that forces remain in place.

On Tuesday morning, security officials said Operation "Roar of Judah" in Hebron reflects "the difference between strategic security thinking and routine security thinking, even when the latter is carried out professionally and effectively by the IDF." They said a similar dispute arose before the takeover of the refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, between Katz, representing the political leadership, and senior IDF commanders.

Those operations ultimately went ahead. They involved evacuating Palestinian residents, taking over the camps, killing terrorists and seizing weapons, along with extensive destruction of physical infrastructure, including homes, and the widening of roads through narrow streets.

The security officials also argued for keeping an IDF presence in the camps, preventing residents from returning and denying the Palestinian Authority a foothold there. They maintained that the PA is neither willing nor able to fight Palestinian terrorism.

The investigation has also uncovered a substantial Hamas network in Hebron, run by local operatives. Authorities are examining whether it received instructions from abroad, including from Hamas operatives in Turkey.

Security officials described the decision to evacuate residents from hundreds of buildings as unprecedented. They argued, however, that the small quantity of weapons found so far shows the operation has not yet exhausted its potential.