Hamas Agrees with Israel: Next War to be in Judea, Samaria

Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Commanding Officer of the Central Command, MG Avi Bluth, visiting the Ofer Operations Center alongside the Police District Commander of Judea and Samaria, Deputy Commissioner Niso Guetta.

The Hamas terrorist organization has issued a statement that ironically concurs with that of Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said earlier this month that war is looming in Judea and Samaria.

Speaking in an interview with the Middle East Eye news outlet on Saturday, Hamas Political Bureau member Basem Naim said Judea and Samaria will be the next theater of war, the Iranian ISNA news outlet reported.

“We believe that the main confrontation will be in the West Bank, not in Gaza Strip, because again the Israeli regime is considering the West Bank, including al-Quds (ed: Jerusalem), to be strategically the next goal of its annexation,” he said.

“We cannot fight to improve the conditions of a prison. We are looking to get rid of the prison itself. If the Palestinians cannot reach their goal of an independent state, including Gaza Strip and the West Bank and al-Quds, no one can enjoy security or stability or prosperity in the region,” Naim warned.

For once, Hamas has gotten it right.

Katz confirmed to Jewish community leaders in Judea and Samaria on January 7th that there are increased threats emanating from “the Iranian axis and the radical Sunni Islam axis.”

Katz was joined at the meeting by IDF Central Command commander Major General Avi Bluth and COGAT chief Major General Rasan Alian, who acts as Israeli liaison with the Palestinian Authority.

“Judea and Samaria have become a central arena on the map of threats to Israel, and we are preparing to respond accordingly,” Katz said.

In preparation for the expected eventual war, the IDF is increasing its military activities in the region, strengthening enforcement on traffic routes and conducting extensive counterterrorism operations.

On Sunday, IDF soldiers dismantled a bomb-making facility in the terrorist hotbed city of Jenin during a massive, ongoing counterterrorism operation taking place there. And that’s just one example.

Further complicating the situation in the region is the fact that hundreds of bloodthirsty terrorists who were serving life sentences in Israeli prisons are being released back to the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, in exchange for Hamas freeing Israeli captives from Gaza.

This past week, the IDF Central Command completed an exercise of command centers to enhance operational readiness in the arena. The exercise simulated several scenarios in order to improve readiness for extreme situations in the Judea and Samaria region and along the eastern border.

As part of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement for the return of the hostages, a joint multi-agency operations center was also established this past week in the IDF Central Command.

The operations center, responsible for overseeing and managing the process, includes representatives from the IDF, Shin Bet (ISA), Israel Police, Israel Prison Service, and other security agencies. The center is operating to coordinate the release of prisoners while conducting various defensive and offensive activities.

During the week, several situational assessments were conducted in the operations center with the participation of the Commanding Officer of Central Command Commander, MG Avi Bluth, the Police District Commander of Judea and Samaria, Deputy Commissioner Niso Guetta and the Central District Operations Officer of the Israel Prison Service, Maya Angel.