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Source: https://www.jns.org/not-in-judea-and-samaria/
Israel Transforms the Security Landscape of Judea and Samaria
(JNS) Mitchell Bard - Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has scored a clear and decisive victory in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), striking a long-overdue blow against the terrorist infrastructure threatening its heartland. Hamas had hoped that its massacre would ignite a new intifada that would engulf Israel. However, while some West Bank Palestinians cheered the atrocities and a few joined in, the region never erupted. Many Palestinians in the West Bank share Hamas's genocidal ideology. Yet, watching the IDF's relentless operations in Gaza, one poll found that 74% were concerned that the West Bank could be destroyed like Gaza. Fear of losing everything can temper Palestinian extremism. On Jan. 21, 2025, the IDF launched "Operation Iron Wall" to dismantle the terror networks spreading in the West Bank. With global attention fixed on Gaza, Israel was able to act decisively without the paralyzing glare of international outrage. The campaign began in the terrorist stronghold of Jenin. Bulldozers cleared IEDs, blocked escape routes and flushed out militants. Operations expanded to Tulkarem and Nur al-Shams, other terror hubs, to end decades of unchallenged lawlessness. By fall, Israel had killed more than 1,000 terrorists and seized more than 2,000 weapons. Most senior terrorists on the wanted list and Iranian arms smuggling networks have been neutralized. IDF operations in the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur al-Shams refugee camps were intended to end their historical role as breeding grounds for terror.