Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for an all-out war in the West Bank and the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, urging the application there of what he called the ‘Gaza Strip model’, as the Israeli army raised its alert level and sent additional reinforcements to the area ahead of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Smotrich calls for expanding operations in the West Bank
In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, Smotrich said the army must dismantle military infrastructure in the West Bank, target ‘militants and tunnels, and collect weapons exactly as it did with Hamas in Gaza’, in his words. The far-right minister added that he had worked to evacuate 3 camps in the northern West Bank, expressing his desire to ‘kill all the terrorists’.
He also warned that ‘if cars in the West Bank become weapons for ramming attacks, they must not be allowed to travel on the roads’. Regarding settlement activity, Smotrich announced the establishment of 22 new settlement outposts in the West Bank over the past summer, describing developments in the area as ‘amazing and creating a sense of security’. On the ground, the Israeli army raised its alert level and reinforced its forces in the West Bank days before Sukkot.
Army reinforces forces amid fears of an escalation in operations
The Walla website quoted an Israeli military official as saying that the army feared an escalation in what the official described as ‘terrorist’ operations and saw a need to increase the number of troops deployed. The official said the army chief of staff had decided to reinforce the West Bank Division with additional military battalions, while also reducing the readiness periods for the air force.
Maariv reported that the army had begun deploying large numbers of soldiers across the West Bank in preparation for the holiday. According to the newspaper, the army was concerned about the possibility of clashes, amid expectations that hundreds of thousands of Israelis would visit areas of the West Bank during Sukkot week. The reinforcements coincided with a Palestinian girl being shot and wounded early on Sunday at the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem.
Girl wounded and checkpoints closed north of Jerusalem
The Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted local sources as saying that the girl was wounded by gunfire from Israeli forces stationed at the checkpoint. Israeli forces also closed the Atara and Ein Sinya checkpoints during the previous night, as well as the entrances to the towns of Aboud and Nabi Saleh north of Ramallah, in addition to the Jaba military checkpoint north-east of Jerusalem.
Wafa reported that the forces stopped Palestinian vehicles and subjected them to searches and checks, resulting in hundreds of vehicles being held for several hours and large numbers of them becoming backed up. Traffic disruptions extended to roads leading to Ramallah, as well as the villages and towns surrounding it. The closures came as part of tightened military measures imposed across Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate and its surroundings for more than a week.
The measures included closing checkpoints and iron gates, as well as setting up surprise checkpoints that impeded Palestinians’ movement between areas. In a separate development, groups of settlers attacked the village of Abu Falah east of Ramallah early on Sunday and set fire to several residents’ vehicles.
The Palestinian agency said the attack came amid a rise in settler assaults on Palestinians and their property in various governorates of the West Bank.
The agency added that these assaults take place under the protection of Israeli forces and include direct attacks on residents, the burning of vehicles and homes, the uprooting of trees and the seizure of land.
