IDF Locates Rocket in the West Bank, Security Officials Recognize Increasing Iran-Backed Threat

Latest Developments

• West Bank Rocket Destroyed: The IDF announced the discovery of a homemade rocket in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on September 24. Although security forces assessed that the rocket had been abandoned and didn’t contain any propellant, Israel’s border police bomb disposal sappers were called to neutralize the projectile. The IDF said that the incident remains under investigation.
• Similar Incident Days Earlier: The announcement came five days after the IDF arrested three members of an armed terror cell near Ramallah that was producing crude rockets intended to be launched at Israeli targets. The raid was carried out after security camera footage showed the launch of a homemade rocket from the Palestinian West Bank village of Kfar Ni’ma, which traveled several hundred meters.
• Iran Assessed To Be Spearheading New Threat Vector: Following the two incidents, Israeli security officials reportedly assessed that “foreign elements, led by Iran,” are working to establish rocket launching capabilities in the West Bank that could target central Israeli cities like Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Netanya, Afula, and Beit She’an. Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, opened an investigation in recent weeks to assess and uncover West Bank terrorist organizations’ capabilities to produce and potentially launch rockets, which led to the discovery of the terror cell in Kfar Ni’ma. In June 2024, Palestinian Authority officials warned that Iran-backed terror groups in the West Bank would be able to launch rockets at Israel within one year, with Israeli security sources now describing the increased rocket threat from the West Bank as “a game-changing weapon.”

FDD Expert Response

“Iran’s backing of terrorist groups in the West Bank is neither new nor subtle, but in recent years, that support has deepened. The discovery of rockets in the territory raises the likelihood that Tehran is playing a direct role, whether through smuggling components or supplying technical expertise. For Israeli security services, the key question is not simply why Iran is investing in this front, but how far its involvement extends.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“As several Western nations unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood, the West Bank continues to be a case-study in why such recognition is, at best, premature — and at worst, potentially catastrophic. The territory now labeled “Palestine” by these countries lacks a security apparatus that is willing and capable of preventing malign state actors from infiltrating and using it as a base to launch terror attacks, an objective failure of any prospective state from the start.” — Aaron Goren, Research Analyst and Editor

FDD Background and Analysis

“IDF Arrests West Bank Terror Cell Producing Rockets To Launch at Israel,” FDD Flash Brief

“IDF raids West Bank financial institution over links to terrorism,” by Joe Truzman

“IDF Arrests Palestinian Terrorist Allegedly Responsible for Central Israel Bus Bombing in February,” FDD Flash Brief

“1 Killed in Shooting and Stabbing Terror Attack at Gush Etzion Junction,” FDD Flash Brief “Israel Dismantles Large Hamas Network in Hebron,” FDD Flash Brief