Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday warned of a strong Iranian push to smuggle weapons and other military resources into the West Bank to fuel terrorist attacks during Ramadan.
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Speaking to troops of the Commando Brigade's elite Duvdevan Unit, the defense chief said that Tehran is "linked to everything happening in the West Bank and is trying to push weapons, ammunition, guidance, information, deception processes and perception into it."
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a conversation with the General Staff of the IDF
(Photo: Defense Ministry)
Gallant emphasized that these developments significantly increase the responsibility on forces specializing in counterterrorism. "There is great pressure, and it will be tested in the coming days, during Ramadan. There will also be additional tests; it could be local issues, and if something emerges on Temple Mount, it could trigger a chain reaction," he said.
"Today, it must be assumed that we will face escalation during Ramadan. You will be tasked with heavy duties, and it must be assumed that you may also encounter certain places within organized frameworks, even if you do not have precise intelligence.
"You need to be prepared and take whatever actions you can to carry out the missions. The principle must be to go after whoever needs to be brought in by any means possible; if you can stop him, do so, if not, engage in combat and eliminate him - that's how it ends.
"Five months after the start of the war, it is clear that Hamas miscalculated its assessment of the situation regarding what Israel knows how to do and what it is willing to sacrifice. They thought they would intimidate us, that they would weaken us, that they would inflict costs that would bring us to the brink of collapse, that our allies would abandon us - none of these things had happened."