Defense Minister Israel Katz, according to i24NEWS, instructed the IDF to expand West Bank operations and prepare to take over another refugee camp, following a security meeting with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. A Defense Ministry statement said the operation would mirror Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams, where the military dismantled militant infrastructure before maintaining a permanent presence.
Those three camps have seen more than 33,000 Palestinians displaced since the campaign began in early 2025, OCHA reported, with residents still barred from returning under a movement-restriction order extended through March 2026.
The order followed a weekend attack at Gilad Farm that, per The Jerusalem Post, killed two Israelis, and Hamas condemned Katz’s directive as a “fascist and terrorist call” on Telegram.
Katz’s announcement came four days after settler attacks on Tal village killed four Palestinians and two Israelis, and Human Rights Watch reported Netanyahu responded by vowing to accelerate settler outposts, which the group called illegal under Israeli law and the Geneva Convention.
Arrests in settler-violence cases remain rare, and Shin Bet figures, according to The Times of Israel, found three times as many Palestinians were victims of West Bank terror attacks as Israelis, even as officials blamed Palestinian terrorism for the recent violence.
Katz’s office, per Haaretz, did not name the camp, and the directive instructs the IDF only to prepare rather than act immediately.
