West Bank Operations: Arrests and Demolitions Expand Beyond Hebron

Brig.-Gen. Kobi Heller, commander of the IDF's West Bank Division, expanded arrest operations and searches on Saturday into the Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm areas, along with other locations throughout Samaria. The move came after troops and Civil Administration personnel demolished unauthorized buildings and infrastructure near the northern entrance to Hebron. Those demolitions were carried out close to the site of a shooting at Yehuda Junction on Friday that killed St.-Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. The military said the structures were removed to enforce law and eliminate potential security threats they posed.

The campaign near Hebron is led by the Judea Brigade and includes the Duvdevan and Maglan units, the Paratroopers Brigade, Givati reconnaissance reservists and Border Police, with intelligence support from the Shin Bet. Troops searched roughly 200 locations during the operation, found no weapons or terrorist activity at those sites, and arrested 10 suspects. Central Command officials identified the attackers in Friday's shooting as Hamouda and Firas al-Ja'aba, both affiliated with Hamas, and said the two came directly from the Ein Dir-Baha neighborhood.

Military assessments put the number of area residents belonging to the Ja'aba clan at about 2,000. The clan is affiliated with Hamas, and the gunmen in Friday's attack came from its ranks. The military began evacuating the al-Jalda and Ein Dir-Baha neighborhoods on Friday evening. Those districts are densely populated and located within the city's Palestinian urban area. Civilians who asked to leave were allowed to exit temporarily through checkpoints run by the Shin Bet and the IDF.

Officials said removing residents from the buildings lets troops and Shin Bet personnel search homes and their surroundings for weapons, explosives laboratories and other infrastructure without putting civilians at risk. A situational assessment was scheduled for Saturday to decide whether to widen the operation. The expanded searches follow concerns about efforts by Hamas leadership abroad to organize attacks ahead of upcoming elections.