Israel faces continuous attempts to orchestrate terrorism against civilian and military targets alike, forcing the defense establishment to maintain high readiness.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

The Israel Defense Forces is planning for the construction of a permanent military base in the Jenin area to consolidate operational gains and prevent the resurgence of unified terror infrastructures in northern Samaria, a military source told JNS on Monday.

The decision is part of a fundamental departure from the previous security approach that governed the area for over two decades.

Following the conclusion of the Second Intifada, the military largely relied on intelligence-driven, targeted raids.

However, this operational model allowed the broader terror ecosystem to survive and continuously replenish its ranks, weapons, and fortifications in the absence of a permanent Israeli security presence.

This changed in January 2025, when the IDF launched “Operation Iron Wall” in Samaria.

“The fact is that every time we entered into a pinpoint operation of a few days, seized weapons, and targeted operatives, in the end we kept going back to the same baseline,” said the source.

“Ultimately, when you leave them with their terror stronghold and their hub, you essentially fail to change anything, which is why ‘Operation Iron Wall’ in January 2025 was launched to change this situation.”

“By remaining inside the camp to alter the reality on the ground, the operation worked, leading to a 70 percent decrease in terror since it began,” the source observed.

“The decision to establish a base there is a directive from the political echelon, which essentially states that they are currently not interested in a withdrawal of forces,” said the military source.

The decision is driven by a number factors, including the need to protect renewed Israeli nearby settlement presence in the region, specifically the communities of Sanur, Ganim, and Kadim.

Planners also recognized the inherent unreliability of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces.

Before the launch of “Operation Iron Wall,” the various armed factions inside the camp abandoned their traditional organizational rivalries.

The military observed intense efforts to amalgamate Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and various local terror networks into a singular cohesive fighting force funded directly by Tehran.

This newly formed alliance was designated as a centralized terror organization specific to the camp, operating under the moniker Abnaa al-Mukhayam (Sons of the Camp).

“They really tried to imitate the terror organizations from Oct. 7, since on Oct. 7 the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as Hamas, all raided together, and that is exactly what they attempted to do here,” the source stated.

“They sought to unite Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and all of these bodies under one head that is funded by Iran. So that is what we succeeded in doing ultimately, neutralizing all the attempts to organize as a group, at least in these areas.”

Still, Israel faces continuous attempts to orchestrate terrorism against civilian and military targets alike, forcing the defense establishment to maintain high readiness.

“Obviously, like always, there are desires and attempts and warnings to carry out attacks, there is no question here,” the source cautioned.

The external funding and strategic direction for this terror hub flowed directly from the Iranian regime. Iranian leadership views the destabilization of Judea and Samaria as a vital component of its multi-front war of attrition against the State of Israel.

By trying to flood the territory with terror financing and smuggled weaponry, the Islamic Republic sought to ignite a major escalation that would stretch Israeli forces and attention.

“You also see the Iranians [in action], who understand that Judea and Samaria is ultimately the soft underbelly of Israel,” the source analyzed.

“Ultimately, an intifada in Judea and Samaria diverts the attention of all the arenas directly into that sector.”

This effort was heavily supported by various Hamas command centers operating safely in foreign capitals.

“This includes Hamas in Turkey and Hamas in Tunisia, but you also see the Iranians attempting to drag Judea and Samaria into this,” the source concluded.

The Iranian strategy has included an arms smuggling campaign across the eastern border with Jordan.

Smuggling rings utilized criminal networks to move vast quantities of assault rifles, explosives, and cash across the frontier, destined for the terror cells operating in Samaria.

To counter this, the IDF deployed the newly established 96th Division to secure the Jordan Valley and interdict the supply lines fueling the violence.

The post IDF plans permanent base in Jenin after cutting terror by 70% appeared first on World Israel News.

On the morning of October 7, 2023, 10 terrorists stormed the base, sparking a two-hour shootout that claimed the lives of seven soldiers; 14 months later, even as southern Israel rebuilds, the scars of that day linger.

By Etgar Lefkovits, JNS

The memorial wall at the entrance to this IDF base near the Gaza Strip, adjacent to an outdoor Chanukah menorah, is adorned with the pictures of the eight Israeli soldiers who served here and were killed during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack.

Their sacrifice was illuminated anew during the eight-day holiday of lights, as bereaved family members joined soldiers, officers and commanders on Wednesday night seeking solace at the base where their loved ones were stationed.

“This is a holiday of light even though you are dealing with exiting the darkness and coming back to the light,” the head of Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo told the bereaved families. “But it is your heroism that gives us the strength to continue.

Bereaved families members at the Urim Base memorial near the Gaza Strip on Jan. 1, 2025. Photo by Rina Castelnuovo.

“Every time it is difficult to come here, but I feel the need and it is important for us to be here,” said Leah Ayash, whose 19-year-old son Sgt. Itamar Avraham Ayash was killed on the base on Oct. 7. She came to the candle lighting and dinner at the base with her 14-year-old son Yochai.

“We had breakfast and I laundered his pants,” recounted Etti Elazar matter-of-factly. Her son Master Sgt. (res.) Tomer Dolev, 34, rushed back from his vacation in Sinai after receiving an emergency military call-up order.

“We arranged to meet the next day,” she said. Dolev was killed fighting in a nearby agricultural community on Oct. 8.

Kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Ifergan offered words of comfort at the holiday ceremony by noting that the gematria, or numerology, of the Hebrew words “darkness” and “light” were the same as the word “Israel,” before offering blessings to the soldiers in the room, some of whom kissed his hand in reverence.

“Every day I still cry,” said Hanna Cohen, her eyes welling up with tears. Her 19-year-old daughter Sgt. Danit Cohen was among those killed at the base. “I still cannot bring myself to the place on the base where she was killed. I am still waiting for her to come back.”

David Farash, whose 38-year-old ultra-Orthodox son Sgt. Major Aharon Farash was killed, noted that his wife could not visit any other place attacked during the massacre, yet felt comforted coming to the military base. “There is no other choice but to go on living,” he said.

A group of 10 terrorists stormed the base on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023. They were killed in a two-hour-long shootout that left seven soldiers dead. Fourteen months later, amid the rebirth underway in southern Israel, the scars remain.

OC Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo speaks with bereaved families at the IDF’s Urim Base near Gaza on Jan. 1, 2025. Photo by Rina Castelnuovo.

“It is hard to talk about light when you are in darkness, said Col. Asher Benishti, who heads the IDF Home Front Command’s Southern District and lives in a community near the border with Gaza.

“But in a similar way to the lights of Chanukah that remind us of the darkness that engulfed us and the light we are in today, a year and several months ago we were in total darkness and today we can see specks of light which reduce if don’t totally remove the darkness. But without the darkness we would not know that there is light,” he said.

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