Not enough fighters: Israel Katz's directive to capture another refugee camp will have to wait
Operations in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur a-Shams were considered a success and led to a sharp decline in terror. The defense establishment clarifies that there are existing plans for continued activity - likely in the Balata refugee camp. But a lack of resources, forces, and the burden on the various war fronts are delaying the decision on the matter.
In the defense establishment, it is explained that currently a move to capture another refugee camp in Judea and Samaria is awaiting the presentation of operational plans by the IDF, and only then will a decision be made on whether to approve them. As recalled, last Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that following a discussion he held with officials in the Central Command and the General Staff, he instructed the IDF to expand offensive activity against Palestinian terror and to prepare for the capture of another refugee camp.
The model on the table is the one implemented in the terror camps in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur a-Shams, which were sealed, evacuated of residents, cleared of terror infrastructure, and where the IDF is currently stationed permanently. Two days earlier, at the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed what is happening in the sector and noted that the instructions given were to enter villages, scan them, seize weapons, and carry out arrests, alongside activity inside the hospital in Nablus where accomplices were hiding, and that the establishment is prepared to act more broadly against the nests of terror.
However, at the moment, it seems in the defense establishment that plans to capture another refugee camp are not rushing to be implemented. To Minister Katz's credit, it should be noted that the model of capturing refugee camps, which was done by the Central Command during his tenure, proved itself operationally and lowered the level of terror to very low numbers not seen in Judea and Samaria for at least a decade. These are moves that the army and the Central Command placed on the Chief of Staff's table at the beginning of the year, which included plans to capture additional refugee camps, including Qalandiya, Jalazone, and Balata in Nablus.
Of the three, if the IDF launches a broad operation, it will likely be in the Balata camp. The reasons for this are varied. The first is the operational control that the IDF and the Samaria Brigade created in the city of Nablus and the maintenance of broad freedom of action, where operations that previously required battalion-level forces are now carried out at the company level only. Beyond that, the Balata camp is located in the heart of recent events and near the site of the severe terror attack in which Binyamin Malet and Major Yuval Ezra were murdered. The operational plans to capture Balata are ready, as are the methods of operation, but their implementation requires forces, resources, and much attention. The event does not end with the actual capture of the camp but with the need to stay in it the day after, which places an additional heavy burden on the amount of military forces.
All this is happening in an operational world where the Judea and Samaria sector is still considered a secondary sector, while matters in the Gaza Strip are heating up, two divisions are operating in the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, and winds of war are blowing from the direction of Iran. Minister Katz's statement at this stage serves dual interests. On the Palestinian side, significant deterrence is created. In the various camps throughout Judea and Samaria, they look at Nur a-Shams, Jenin, and Tulkarm and do not want permanent forces in the heart of the cities, so the signal is routed directly to them. On the other hand, the statement conveys a message to the settler public that demands a firm hand against terror following the severe attack. At the moment, as mentioned, the move remains only as contingency plans, and only in the coming days will we know if any of this will actually be implemented on the ground.
