Israel SitRep: December 20, 2024

Today’s Issue: | Israeli Security Forces Conduct Overnight West Bank Counterterror Operations, Seize Guns, Ammunition, Illegal Vehicles; Arrest Four | Israeli Government Directs IDF to Strengthen PA for Fight Against Terrorism | IDF Continues Operations in Northern Gaza, Locating Weapons, Eliminating Terrorists, Demolishing Tunnels | COGAT: We Monitor Gaza Situation in All Areas, Including Water, and Operate According to International Law | Latest FDD Analysis  

Israeli Security Forces Conduct Overnight West Bank Counterterror Operations, Seize Guns, Ammunition, Illegal Vehicles; Arrest Four: On Friday, the IDF announced that its troops, along with the Border Police and Shin Bet, carried out an overnight counterterror operation in a number of locations in the West Bank. Security forces seized five guns and a large amount of ammunition in Halhoul, north of Hebron, and in Samu, south of Hebron. Troops arrested four in Halhoul, in Silat, in the Nablus area, and in Deir Ghazala, near Jenin. This week, IDF soldiers have seized dozens of illegal vehicles throughout the West Bank, along with about 10 weapons and more than 1 million shekels (about $280,000) in terror funds. According to Amir Bohbot, military correspondent for Israel’s Walla news site, intensive actions that began under the previous head of the IDF’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs — including targeted airstrikes and intensive and extensive operations in refugee camps — prevented terrorists from creating an effective framework. Nevertheless, terror organizations have been smuggling in weapons, including IEDs, which in some cases caused great damage and deaths.

Israeli Government Directs IDF to Strengthen PA for Fight Against Terrorism: According to a report Thursday by Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian, the IDF, at the directive of the Israeli government, is attempting to strengthen the Palestinian Authority so that it can fight West Bank terrorism. The PA has been conducting a counterterror operation in Jenin in recent days and has arrested and killed Islamic Jihad and Hamas members, neutralized explosive devices, and confiscated weapons. While the PA is able to maintain order in the central and southern West Bank, it has been having difficulty gaining control in the northern West Bank against terrorist groups, particularly in Tulkarem-, Jenin-, and Nablus-area refugee camps. This week, the PA entered Jenin, including a refugee camp, and the IDF will try to help it succeed in such operations. The report also notes that the IDF supports increasing the number of work permits for West Bank Palestinians to enable them to work in Israel or in settlements, believing that this will improve the depressed West Bank economy. A large number of work permits for Palestinians were revoked in the wake of October 7.

IDF Continues Operations in Northern Gaza, Locating Weapons, Eliminating Terrorists, Demolishing Tunnels: The IDF published a report on Friday about combat in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. The Kfir Brigade, operating under the 162nd Division, has been fighting there for more than two months, destroying tunnels and other terrorist infrastructures, locating weapons, and killing terrorists in close combat and through airstrikes. Soldiers from the Yahalom combat engineering unit and other combat engineers demolished three tunnels of about 7.5 kilometers (4.5 miles) that were dozens of meters deep. One tunnel contained IDF equipment taken on October 7, as well as weapons, maps of Gaza envelope communities, and sleeping accommodations for Hamas members. The report includes footage from a tunnel that was discovered and footage of engineering work to destroy a tunnel.

COGAT: We Monitor Gaza Situation in All Areas, Including Water, and Operate According to International Law: On Thursday, COGAT, the Israeli entity coordinating humanitarian aid for Gaza, responded to “a recent report” accusing Israel of using water as a weapon in Gaza. Noting that according to international standards, there should be 15 liters of water per person per day in conflict zones, COGAT stated that northern Gaza receives 107 liters per person, central Gaza 34 liters per person, and southern Gaza 20 liters per person from pumping facilities, water desalination plants, and water lines from Israel. In addition, Israel has repaired water lines leading to Gaza that were damaged by Hamas, in some cases, under fire, and has facilitated hundreds of repairs of water infrastructures in northern and southern Gaza. After Hamas damaged the Kela electricity line on October 7, Israel facilitated its repair to enable the Khan Younis desalination plant to work at full capacity, which means supplying 20,000 cubic meters of water daily. COGAT noted that its “humanitarian assessment team monitors the humanitarian situation across Gaza in all areas, including water, from a wide range of sources,” and stated: “We operate in accordance with international law.”

Latest FDD Analysis:

Today at 8:30am (ET): “FDD Morning Brief,” featuring Jonathan Schanzer and Andrew Fox, FDD Event

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