After eliminating the last two terrorists on the list of fugitives in Judea and Samaria, the IDF launched a large-scale operation in the five villages:"Since the war, we understand that Israel has changed its face." Contrary to predictions, the Palestinian street remained quiet, partly thanks to thwarting instigators. The policy vis-à-vis the PA, the new deterrence - and the Palestinian hope that could be overturned

Elisha Ben Kimon

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The IDF opened this morning (Wednesday) in

A broad and ongoing operation in the northern Samaria region

- Operation Masach, which was given the name"Five Stones" - will focus mainly on the "five villages" which include, among others, Tamon, Tubas and Phara'a. Forces from the Shomron, Ephraim and commando brigades imposed a blockade on the villages and began conducting intelligence-based searches to locate weapons and additional military equipment, while at the same time, accompanied by the Shin Bet, the forces are arresting, detaining and interrogating wanted individuals.

The brief history shows that the launch of the operation in northern Samaria, which was kept under the radar, also entailed tactical exercises that the forces prepared for the fleeing terrorists, and therefore the IDF is currently maintaining ambiguity surrounding the operation. The operation takes place at a significant point in time in Judea and Samaria, against the backdrop of

Approval in the Security Council

of the UN to the American plan for the Gaza Strip - which also includes

"Path to a Palestinian State"

- And it's hard to know how long it will last. Only time will measure its achievements.

9 Viewing the gallery

"The reality in Judea and Samaria has changed." IDF forces in Tubas (Photo: Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

(Photo: Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

Yesterday the IDF announced that

There are no more fugitive terrorists who carried out attacks in Judea and Samaria.

, after the last two terrorists on the list were thwarted. According to security sources,"The reality in Judea and Samaria has changed. If we look at the perspective of the years 2021-2023 compared to 2024 and 2025, we understand that a significant change has occurred that is part of the change that has occurred throughout the Middle East. The fact that today fighters are going for a run in the heart of the Jenin refugee camp says it all."

In the years leading up to the war

Iron swords

, the Central Command refrained from overly aggressive activity in Judea and Samaria due to the fear that this would lead to the unification of the arenas that threaten Israel, primarily in the Gaza Strip. In other words, the fear that an elimination in Jenin would lead to rocket fire towards the Negev or central settlements, or that entering into a long-term operation in the heart of one of the villages could lead to attacks from the north, or even against Israeli Arabs, as occurred during Operation"Guardian of the Walls" in 2021. The IDF was deterred.

The peak of this trend was the rise of the terrorist infrastructure.

"The Lion's Den"

which operated in Nablus and created the "writing" model, which was later copied to other places - and in fact is still being tried to be copied. This led to a series of serious attacks at a later stage, and subsequently to

"Home and Garden" campaign

In northern Samaria in the summer of 2023. This operation was defined by the Central Command as extremely significant, but in practice, when one looks at the operation today, one sees that it is a very limited operation.

"Today everything is different, smoother, easier and faster" (Photo: AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Today, security sources explain, there is a significant projection of deterrence towards the Palestinian residents of Judea and Samaria."Since the war, they understand that Israel and the IDF have changed their face and their perception of threats," they said."If in the past there was intelligence to thwart a person and we would think twice or three times what it would do in recent arenas, how many senior levels would have to approve the operation and especially how much intelligence it would require, then today everything is different, smoother, easier and faster."

According to them, the area of operation in Judea and Samaria has been growing, and the activity requires less manpower and fewer permits. A source in the Central Command emphasizes that today,"fighters can reach every inch of Judea and Samaria. This did not happen in the past, in fact it has not happened since '67."

Why isn't the street rioting?

The behavior of the Palestinian public in Judea and Samaria is puzzling and contradicts the perception of some security officials who believed that the lack of workers' participation, the increase in aggression, the massive entry of forces, and the elimination of many terrorists would bring the Palestinian masses onto the streets and start another intifada. But none of this happened, first of all because, despite the statements made to the outside world, the cabinet did not decide to collapse the Palestinian Authority. The opposite is true: according to the Israeli government's perception, the goal is to preserve the PA - as part of preserving security stability.

The relationship with the Palestinian security apparatus is complex, and only a few days ago a terrorist cell linked to the PA was exposed. However, in recent days the relationship with the apparatus has contributed to security stability. The Palestinian public is not uniform in its opinions and perceptions, and what could lead the Palestinians in Jenin to an uprising is not necessarily what will lead the Palestinians in Hebron to an uprising.

As a rule, the IDF talks about these two main groups: the adults who experienced the years of the Intifada and

Operation "Defensive Shield"

In the early 2000s, and the young people who experienced the

October 7

And the Israeli response to the massacre. Both, security sources explain, have seen how the IDF is changing its face. Both understand, each in their own way, the"price of loss" - that is, what could be damaged as a result of a terrorist uprising in a colonized place.

Another reason for the current security reality is consistency and control of messages. The Central Command has maintained a certain consistency in the face of terrorism, and the IDF is investing quite a bit in thwarting"soft terrorism," meaning the arrest of the main instigators online, as well as those caught with incitement equipment."The fact that you see a person walking around with a Hamas flag at a terrorist's funeral and 12 hours later being arrested - that sends a clear message," explain the same security sources.

One of the serious evils that the command had to deal with was the funerals of the militants who would produce propaganda videos on the Internet, which would harm the sense of security of Israeli residents, some of whom live right next to the places where those funerals took place. There was also severe incitement online among Palestinians. However, it seems that in recent months this phenomenon has also decreased significantly, and"if in the past, in each operation they counted how many terrorists were killed and success was measured by that, today you understand that eliminating the terrorists produces other effects and things should not be measured only by the number of terrorists killed," according to a security source.

IDF forces in Operation "Five Stones" (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)

The difficult economic reality in which the PA finds itself is another reason why the Palestinian public is not revolting, but in fact the Palestinian public has gone through more difficult economic periods, for example during the coronavirus pandemic.

Palestinian hope - and fear

Central Command fears a return to the concepts that were accepted before the war. With the end of the fighting, security sources explain, there is a tendency to return to things that were previously thought to work."We are fighting so that this does not happen to the IDF and so that we are not surprised again," the sources explain.

The security establishment understands that there are events that could ignite the sector, despite the dramatic changes it is undergoing. This could be the re-establishment of terror infrastructure by the terrorists released in the latest deal, a serious attack that will trigger a series of attacks, an external political event with dramatic decisions, a nationalist crime by Jewish rioters, or even an internal Palestinian event.

These days, the IDF explains,"we have entered a period in which the concept of expectation and perhaps even hope has returned to the Palestinian street" - against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza - which includes broader moves in the Middle East - and a "path to a Palestinian state." On the other hand, the residents of Judea and Samaria are afraid of this, and see how Trump is promoting his plan, while meeting with many Arab leaders.

The hope among the Palestinians for progress on the political front, and even more so - the disappointment of a situation in which this hope will not be realized - could infuriate the Palestinian street. Security sources emphasize that the Central Command must strengthen the security pillars that have been built over the past two years, without paying attention to background noise, and act exactly the opposite of what they did before the war. Otherwise, they say,"we will fall again."

The Air Force is also inside.

The IDF, Shin Bet and the police stated that the operation, under the command of the Judea and Samaria Division, began during the night, and as stated, forces from the Commando Brigade, the Samaria Brigade and the Menashe Brigade are participating in it, alongside the Shin Bet and the Border Guard."The operation began following preliminary intelligence identification of attempts by terrorist elements to establish themselves and establish infrastructure in the area," it was stated.

"With the start of the operation and before the forces had even begun to operate in the area, the Air Force attacked to isolate and surround the area," the IDF added."After the attacks, the security forces began to operate and scan dozens of buildings and interrogate suspects. During one of the scans, a camera cache was located and terrorist funds were confiscated. The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to act proactively in order to prevent the establishment of terrorism in the area and to thwart any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel."

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