Occupation Prepares for Wide-Scale Military Operations in the West Bank

Occupied Jerusalem – Agencies: The Israeli occupation army is preparing for a major escalation in the occupied West Bank in the coming days, which may include the occupation of additional Palestinian refugee camps and the execution of large-scale military operations, as Defense Minister Israel Katz pushes in this direction. According to the Hebrew website “Wallah,” the occupation army describes its operation in the West Bank as a “radical cure for terrorism,” following its announcement of concluding operations in the Al-Taybeh Heights in southern Lebanon after the detonation of main Hezbollah tunnels in the area. Although the level of Palestinian operations in the West Bank is the lowest since 2011, the Israeli army has initiated a series of developments that could change the landscape, ranging from increased friction on the ground to a scenario of gunpoint coercion. The security establishment estimates that the political level may push toward the occupation of additional refugee camps and the execution of wide-ranging operations in the northern West Bank, according to the Hebrew website.

The frequency of friction is increasing due to several factors, including a significant rise in the number of new settlements, with 84 additional settlements alongside 180 already established, as well as approximately 140 agricultural settlements and more than 100 illegal outposts. Defense Minister Israel Katz is pressuring the army to occupy additional refugee camps and carry out large-scale operations, focusing on the northern West Bank. On January 21, 2025, Israel began a military operation in the northern West Bank, during which it occupied the Jenin refugee camp in Jenin Governorate and the Tulkarm and Nour Shams refugee camps in Tulkarm Governorate, turning them into “ghost cities.” Dozens of Palestinians were killed, and approximately 32,000 were forced to flee, according to data from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

During the first half of 2026, settlers carried out 3,488 attacks in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of 17 Palestinians, the complete or partial displacement of 26 Bedouin and pastoral communities, and the establishment of 42 new outposts, mostly pastoral, according to the Palestinian Anti-Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. Approximately 750,000 settlers live in 194 settlements and 400 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, committing near-daily attacks against Palestinians and their property with the aim of forcibly displacing them from their lands.