West Bank security situation rapidly snowballing, forces will be reinforced, military officials say

Senior military officials have characterized the security situation in the West Bank as "highly volatile and extremely dangerous," leading to a decision to reinforce forces in the region. Currently, 26 battalions are operating across the sector. A security official warned on Sunday that the situation is akin to "a snowball rolling downhill," cautioning that "it will be difficult to stop." Amid escalating tensions, a large-scale operation targeting terrorist infrastructure and incitement is anticipated to be postponed until after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the United States. This delay aims to prevent the Palestinian issue from dominating his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, allowing focus on the security establishment's current priorities: Iran, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip. The IDF has maintained that an incident near Gilad Farm last Saturday, which reportedly triggered a spike in tensions, was not an act of deliberate arson. A senior officer in the IDF Central Command stated, "We have videos and photographs, and we clearly understand what happened. There were two suspects, and the police released them.” The officer attributed the fire to a discarded cigarette that later developed into a wildfire. Since that incident, numerous clashes between Israelis and Palestinians have been reported, alongside violent attacks across the West Bank. One such attack resulted in the death of a company commander and a member of a local security squad, while an off-duty IDF soldier sustained moderate injuries. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has instructed commanders to prevent friction points that could further inflame the situation. Despite these directives, the security establishment has been unable to prevent several suspected nationalist crime incidents in the past 48 hours, including the arson of a mosque, buildings, and vehicles. Nevertheless, the IDF has launched an operation in Nablus to arrest wanted suspects, question detainees, and locate weapons, though a broader operation is expected to be delayed until after Netanyahu's return from the U.S.

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highly volatile and extremely dangerous