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The 'Post' went along with IDF soldiers for raids with the IDF in Aida and Azza camps in Bethlehem.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN DECEMBER 3, 2024 21:18
IDF soldiers of the Tavor Battalion of the Search and Rescue Brigade and 8208 Reserve Battalion take part in an operation of Etzion Brigade to detain suspects in Aida and Azza camps in Bethlehem on December 3.
(photo credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)
The IDF conducted a series of overnight operations in areas around Bethlehem in the early hours of December 3. During the operation, the forces made arrests of wanted individuals, interrogated dozens of suspects, and searched and found weapons and incitement materials, the IDF said. The ‘Post’ went along with the soldiers during raids on several multi-story residential buildings.
Troops combed several neighborhoods, searching for suspects. Women combat soldiers took up positions in alleyways and went door-to-door in the precision operation. It was biting cold out, as the forces looked for, and successfully detained the suspects in the dead of night.
The streets of Bethlehem were quiet, with only the barking of a few dogs audible as the troops moved quietly from place to place. This is the kind of operation the IDF often conducts to keep terrorists in check and make it clear that Israel’s security forces are one step ahead of enemies.
The raids were aimed at sites in Aida and Azza, neighborhoods north of Bethlehem that are built on refugee camps established in the 1950s. Refugee camps in Bethlehem and other areas of the West Bank and Gaza have often been recruiting grounds for terrorist groups such as Hamas or the PFLP.
Challenging areas
These areas present a challenge because the buildings often have multiple entrances and numerous small apartments with what seems like endless locked iron doors to a warren of courtyards. Soldiers have to navigate all this while keeping watch down alleyways and overhead for terror threats.
The soldiers prepared for the operation prior to midnight at a base in Gush Etzion. The forces involved in the operation operated as part of the Etzion brigade, which includes numerous women combat soldiers. The soldiers included members of the Tavor battalion of the Search and Rescue Brigade.
In the section I went along with, most of the soldiers were women. They carried their M-16 rifles and moved quickly to reach their objectives and search for suspects. The operation was accompanied by IDF reservists from the 8208th Infantry Battalion.
During the operation, we saw how soldiers worked as part of a small team to search for suspects. All of this was conducted prior to sunrise, and the goal was to detain the suspects as quickly and quietly as possible during the night. This reduced friction and contact with the civilian population in the area.
This means that those affected by the raid are mostly residents of the buildings where the suspects live. In our case, the soldiers often had to knock on several doors to find the wanted suspects. When the young men were found, they were escorted to a waiting military vehicle before being taken to a central collection point, where other detainees from various raids in the area were also taken.
These routine operations are designed to keep terrorist groups and threats in check by remaining one step ahead of them. The area of the Etzion Brigade’s operations, which includes Bethlehem and other villages near Gush Etzion, has not seen the kind of increase in terror threats that has occurred in the northern West Bank.
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It wasn’t always like this, in decades past there were numerous terrorists who took up positions in Beit Jala in the Second Intifada and operated from camps such as Dheishah, Aida and Azza. These days things appear relatively quiet, due to the operations that the soldiers are conducting.
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