Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the evacuation of unauthorized Israeli outposts in parts of the West Bank amid heavy pressure from the U.S. administration, according to officials familiar with the issue, as the number of new settlement points continues to rise and security tensions deepen across the territory.
The most sensitive cases involve outposts established in Area B, where the Palestinian Authority holds civilian control under the Oslo Accords and Israel retains overriding security responsibility.
Of roughly 100 unauthorized outposts currently operating across the West Bank, security officials say about 15 to 20 have been established in Areas A and B. Those are in addition to settlement points established in coordination with the military and about 130 agricultural farms. Officials familiar with the discussions say Netanyahu has issued direct instructions to remove outposts in Area B because of mounting concern in Washington that the phenomenon could expand.
“What worries the prime minister most right now is the American administration, which is very concerned that what is happening in Area B will expand,” officials familiar with the matter said. “There are clear instructions from the National Security Council to evacuate outposts, certainly those in Area B.” The same officials said Netanyahu has also told ministers not to publicly attack IDF commanders over the evacuations and to give the military leadership their backing.
But security officials say the enforcement effort has become a repetitive and increasingly difficult cycle. “We evacuate them and they come back in the morning,” one official said. “These enforcement measures are not effective as a standalone tool.” The main concern, officials say, is over violent outposts that repeatedly draw troops into confrontations and consume military resources at a time when the IDF is already stretched by a growing security threat across the West Bank.
“The coming period will bring together Palestinian despair on the one hand and a level of growth and expansion in the settlements that we have never seen before on the other,” the official said. That tension is unfolding as Israeli security officials warn that the apparent calm across the West Bank is masking a sharp rise in intelligence warnings, planned attacks and counterterrorism operations.
“We are identifying a very large increase in the number of alerts and intelligence reports, as well as in the number of attacks being thwarted,” security officials said. “Every week we foil dozens of attacks, some of which are already underway. These are crazy numbers.” They said the trend has been building over the past two to three months and warned that Israel’s ability to prevent attacks is not absolute.
Security officials say many of the threats are being driven not by lone attackers but by locally organized cells, some of them receiving outside support. On Thursday, soldiers from the IDF’s elite Duvdevan unit arrested five suspected terrorists who were allegedly preparing to carry out an imminent attack. According to the security establishment, the cell had obtained M16 rifles, ammunition magazines and tactical vests and was preparing to carry out a shooting attack against an Israeli community before dawn.
IDF troops in the Askar refugee camp over the weekend
(Photo: Ammar Awad, REUTERS)
In a separate operation in the Askar refugee camp, forces found explosive devices. Israeli forces are also searching the Ramallah area for a suspect armed with a handgun who officials say was preparing to carry out an attack. One security official said the threat increasingly involves organized cells with external backing, pointing in particular to Iran and Hamas.
Another concern is the prospect of elections in the Palestinian Authority. In recent days, the IDF and Shin Bet have held assessments on the possible vote and its potential impact on security conditions. “Hamas is currently making an enormous effort to get into the electoral lists and exert influence,” security officials said.
Officials assess that the chances of elections ultimately taking place remain low, in part because Israel does not want Hamas members securing senior positions in the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, especially in east Jerusalem. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas are both at political low points, according to the assessment, raising the possibility that new political figures could emerge.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman)
Against the backdrop of settlement tensions, possible Palestinian elections, elections in Israel and what officials describe as a clear rise in terrorist activity, the IDF is increasing its readiness ahead of the Jewish High Holiday season. “We are making a major effort to improve readiness for an outbreak of violence in the West Bank,” security officials said. “At least two additional battalions will be added beginning on Rosh Hashanah, and the chief of staff will allocate whatever forces are needed.”
According to the officials, the headquarters of a senior IDF division is already on heightened readiness and has completed preparations for possible deployment. If Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir orders its activation, the division would assume command of the sector south of Jerusalem, a move that has not taken place for several years. Large-scale exercises are also expected to be held across the West Bank in the coming days as the military prepares for the possibility that the situation could deteriorate.