As Israel continues the fight against Hamas in Gaza, and a war with Hezbollah looms in the north, we cannot lose sight of the situation in Judea and Samaria. If we do, we could see Area A, the territory in Judea and Samaria fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority, turn into another Gaza. To prevent this from happening, it is imperative that the IDF do in the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria what it is now doing in Gaza: Eliminating all terrorists and terrorist infrastructure once and for all.
The PA is steadily losing control of the territories assigned to it under the terms of the Oslo Accords. This is particularly true in Samaria (northern West Bank). Indeed, different armed terrorist groups have all but taken over cities like Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarem. For this reason, the IDF has had to undertake periodic raids in these places to arrest wanted terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure. One recent raid into Jenin saw one IDF soldier killed and more than a dozen others injured. But conducting intermittent raids won't be enough to safeguard the lives of Israelis in the long run. The IDF must carry out a broad offensive aimed at wiping out all terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria, even if it means direct confrontation with the PA.
Palestinian terrorists are desperately trying to turn PA-controlled territory into another Gaza, complete with tunnels and rockets. In fact, last December, the Jerusalem Post reported that residents close to the Green Line have been hearing drilling and excavation noises, indicating that terrorists may be trying to construct tunnels similar to those used by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon to attack Israel.
In an interview with Maariv, Dr. Daphne Richemond-Barak, a senior lecturer at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University, said that Israel cannot rule out the existence of tunnels under the Green Line or between Jewish and Palestinian settlements in Judea and Samaria. If such tunnels do exist, then I would say there is a big possibility they could be used by Palestinian terrorists to carry out an attack similar to October 7th.
It is also very possible that Israelis could soon face the threat of rocket fire from PA territory in Judea and Samaria. The Israeli public broadcaster, KAN, citing senior officials in the PA security forces, reported that at the current rate of smuggling from Jordan, Palestinian terrorists could be able to launch rockets from territory in Judea and Samaria into Israel within a year. In fact, just a year ago, terrorists attempted to launch rockets from Jenin, though the attempt failed as the rockets landed in Palestinian territory. But it may not be long before terrorists can successfully launch rockets from their territory in Judea and Samaria that could harm Israeli civilians.
Israel cannot afford to see PA-controlled territory in Judea and Samaria turn into another Gaza. Thus, it is of vital importance that the Israeli government authorize the IDF to undertake a large-scale operation in PA territory, similar to current operations in Gaza, to eliminate all terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. Failing to do so could mean that Israelis will soon be dodging rocket fire from places like Jenin and Nablus. Or worse, it could mean a repeat of the October 7th atrocities.
