A senior Israeli military official warned last Wednesday evening of what he described as an escalating “qualitative threat” in the West Bank, following the alleged arrival of Iranian made weapons and combat equipment into the hands of resistance cells. He described these developments as a “ticking time bomb” that could explode at any moment.
Israel’s Channel 14 quoted the official as saying that security agencies have begun to observe the entry of what he called “game changing weapons” into the West Bank, referring to Iranian origin military equipment. He warned that the occupation army’s focus on large scale drills simulating major operations similar to the 7 October attack is coming at the expense of preparedness for other “smaller” but highly impactful operations, such as infiltration attacks into settlements.
According to the same source, the official believes that scenarios involving small cells carrying out specialised operations inside settlements are “highly likely”, stressing that addressing this threat requires an urgent change in existing security assumptions.
He emphasised that the occupation army is “racing against time” to track down these weapons, relying on intelligence information that Tel Aviv claims it is closely monitoring.
Tulkarm military structure uncovered
These warnings came hours after Israeli security agencies announced on Tuesday that they had uncovered what they described as an “infrastructure” in the Tulkarm area.
The occupation army claimed it had found three rocket shells at different stages of manufacturing, including one fitted with a warhead, along with explosive devices and chemical explosive materials.
Areas across the West Bank have witnessed a significant escalation in raids and arrests over recent months, amid repeated clashes with Palestinian resistance groups.
Since the start of the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip on 8 October 2023, which has continued for two years, Israeli occupation forces and settlers in the West Bank have killed more than 1,092 Palestinians, wounded around 11,000, and arrested over 21,000, according to Palestinian data.
In the Gaza Strip, the war of extermination has resulted in more than 70,000 martyrs and over 171,000 wounded, most of them children and women, alongside massive destruction that the United Nations estimates will cost around 70 billion dollars to rebuild.
Palestinian data further confirms that the Israeli occupation state, established in 1948 on occupied Palestinian land, continues its occupation of the remaining Palestinian territories and refuses to withdraw or allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
