IDF chief: War on Hamas includes Judea and Samaria
Gov’t minister says military operations must be accompanied by “settlement” expansion leading to sovereignty over biblical heartland.
Smoke billows from the site of several explosions during an Israeli raid on Jenin on February 2, 2025. The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank last month dubbed "Iron Wall," aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area.
Focus remains on Gaza, especially in the international arena, but Hamas must also be defeated in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, stressed new IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir.
“In Gaza, we launched a surprising and powerful operation, with the return of all the hostages as a top priority to which we are committed in every action,” Zamir said during a security assessment in the so-called “West Bank.”
“When we talk about defeating Hamas, it means defeating Hamas everywhere, including here in Judea and Samaria. Continue the ongoing counterterrorism operations alongside robust defense,” he added.
Israeli forces have been operating quietly (at least in terms of international media coverage) in Judea and especially Samaria since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, with an emphasis on the northern Samaria terror hub of Jenin.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week visited the Border Police undercover units that carry out so many of the counter-terrorism operations in Judea and Samaria, and described theirs as “holy work for the State of Israel.”
“While we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu noted.
Palestinian terrorists targeted Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on Feb. 17. Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, according to the report.
Push for sovereignty
Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat insists that the long-term solution to the problem in Judea and Samaria is for Israel to reassert sovereignty over its ancient biblical heartland.
“This is the time for sovereignty; the time to drive stakes deep into the ground and take advantage of the window of opportunity we now have,” Barkat stated during a visit to the Barkan industrial zone in central Samaria.
The minister called on the government to expand Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and “solidify our presence in all parts of the Land of Israel.”
“The more we act and apply sovereignty in the Judea and Samaria areas, the more we determine, for generations, the future of the State of Israel,” added Barkat, who is a member of the ruling Likud Party.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan thanked Barkat, saying, “Victory is land, victory is ensuring our hold here in Samaria, victory is sovereignty—and sovereignty is victory.”
The Samaria leader also called on the government in Jerusalem “not to miss the historic opportunity to apply sovereignty in the region.”
Earlier this month, Dagan visited Washington and gifted a mezuzah to Senior Faith Adviser Paula White, which she promised to hang in the White House, which many saw as emphasizing the Trump administration’s favorable view of Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
See: Trump adviser Paula White to hang ‘settler’ mezuzah at White House
President Donald Trump was asked back in February to clarify his view on Israel officially annexing Judea and Samaria. At the time he said that the issue was still being discussed, and suggested that Israel had presented its case well.
Around that time, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) issued a similar statement stressing that full Israeli control over Judea and Samaria was the only path to true peace:
“These biblical, original parts of our land, which in the Bible tells the story of our people, are intended for us, for the people of Israel, need to be in the territory of the State of Israel, under the ownership of Israel, under full Israeli sovereignty. Today, this thing is clearer than ever.”
Polls consistently show that a majority of Israelis now support Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, and reject plants to establish an independent Palestinian Arab state there.
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