Just before the holidays: documentation of IDF raids on terrorist strongholds in East Jerusalem | Special
The IDF has launched a special operation to arrest terror suspects and seize weapons in East Jerusalem, amid rising security tensions ahead of the High Holidays. An i24NEWS reporter accompanied forces that raided Anata, Kafr Aqab, Shuafat, and Qalandia. Despite threats from the political echelon, the forces maintain operational coordination with the Palestinian Authority.
The IDF has launched a special operation in East Jerusalem, just days before the High Holidays, aimed at arresting terror suspects and seizing weapons. i24NEWS Jerusalem and Territories correspondent Shlomi Heller accompanied forces that raided several locations, including Anata, Kafr Aqab, and the Shuafat and Qalandia refugee camps. The activity takes place against a backdrop of growing security tensions in the capital, with these areas described in the article as "spaces of chaos and lack of governance" due to insufficient Israeli or Palestinian control. A series of attacks and attempts to inflame the sector have led to a widespread reinforcement of troops in Judea and Samaria. The operation is set against the backdrop of the kidnapping of reserve soldiers to Ramallah by Palestinian police officers about two weeks ago, an incident for which no suspects have yet been arrested. While Defense Minister Israel Katz has declared readiness to attack senior PA officials in a worst-case scenario, in practice the forces on the ground maintain close cooperation with the Palestinian Authority in an effort to calm tensions.