The IDF announced Tuesday that it has deployed additional forces to the West Bank security barrier as part of Israel’s overall plan to increase security in the highly volatile region.
The move follows the murder of 14 Israelis at the hands of four different Palestinian terrorist's -- three of which hail from the West Bank -- and amid heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions exacerbated by Israel’s consequent counterterrorism operations in the region, as well as by the holy month of Ramadan.
The decision to send additional reinforcements to the flashpoint area was made after the Security Cabinet approved a NIS 360 million plan to reinforce and mend the tattered security barrier, which runs along parts of the Green Line -- the demarcation line set out in the 1949 -- and inside the West Bank itself, and which Israel deems as a necessary tool to fend off terror attacks by Palestinians.
The military said it has sent two battalions and two companies of both infantry and combat engineering soldiers to the West Bank, where they are expected to remain until the 40 kilometer construction project is complete.
The threat of a flare up in the West Bank was made all too real recently due both the Muslim Ramadan - a time of heightened religious sensitivity usually accompanied by an uptick in Palestinian violence -- as well as by what some describe as provocation by the far-right "Returning to the Mountain" movement, which announced Tuesday it is offering a monetary reward to Jews who will attempt to offer a sacrifice on the Temple Mount, according to biblical practice, during the Muslim holiday.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas issues a warning, according to which any such act by Jews on the Temple Mount will lead to "a severe escalation that cannot be controlled.”
At the same time, the Hamas terrorist group announced that it was following the matter closely, adding that "offering a sacrifice and harming the Al-Aqsa Mosque is crossing a red line."
Public Security Minister Amar Bar-Lev also referred to the recent threat of escalation, as well as to the military’s counterterrorism operations in the West Bank.
"[Israel] will not hesitate to embark on more extensive military operations, in Jenin and other places that constitute fertile ground for terrorism," said Bar-Lev, who also lauded the police, as well as the policemen who was injured in Ashkelon Tuesday in an attempted terror attack.
" [The Israel Police] is currently at the forefront of the fight against terrorism, which is once again raising its head with utter contempt and cruelty. The last few weeks have emphasized more and more the importance of the police,” he said.
“This is also the place to make clear to our enemies: the State of Israel and its security forces, including the Israel Police, will chase you down everywhere, day and night, and reach you. Anyone who seeks to harm us must know that their days are numbered,” the minister said.