The occupation expands the evacuation of settlement outposts after attacks in the West Bank

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - The Israeli occupation army intensified its measures against hotbeds of "national crime" - settler terrorism in the West Bank, following the attack on the American photographer for the Washington Post, Heidi Levin, and foreign diplomats during the past days.

The Israeli security services are considering expanding the evacuation of “illegal” settlement outposts, which may turn into points of friction and repeated confrontations.

According to a report published by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, in recent days the army has expanded the scope of its field procedures, as part of an effort to send a message that operations against “illegal” outposts will continue, and that additional evacuations will be carried out in locations where it has been decided to dismantle facilities that were illegally established.

The step is based on a security assessment that believes that confronting crime is not limited to arresting suspects, confiscating their vehicles, and taking economic measures against them, but also requires targeting the physical infrastructure that allows these activities to continue on the ground.

The Israeli security services believe that dealing with attacks after they occur is not enough, and that work must be done to remove “illegal” hotspots that are believed to be a base for continued friction.

Since the beginning of 2026, about 200 “illegal” warehouses and facilities have been evacuated in areas of the West Bank, including areas classified “A” and “B.”

The report explained that this number refers to evacuations, and not necessarily to 200 different settlement outposts, as the same outpost may be evacuated more than once.

In the same context, on Saturday evening, the occupation forces strengthened their deployment in the region with two companies of border guards in the reserve forces, with the aim of helping in dealing with confrontations during the olive harvest season, strengthening the military presence and expanding the scope of field procedures.

Among the specific tasks of these forces is doubling the number of evacuations.

The Israeli security services are trying to confirm that supporting settlement farms and working to regulate settlement in locations permitted by the authorities will not prevent the implementation of operations against “illegal” construction in the outposts that have been decided to target.

Among the sites that witnessed operations in recent days is the Shirat Zion settlement outpost.

The report quoted a security source as saying that forces evacuated facilities at the site yesterday, and during the operation, six suspects were arrested by border guard forces.

The six suspects were later released, while the court decided to deport them from the area.

The decision sparked criticism from law enforcement, which said the site had already been declared a closed military zone under an order issued by the area commander, and that the order was in effect until November.

These parties believe that the deportation decision does not provide an effective response, because it prevents the suspects from entering an area that they are already prohibited from entering according to the military order.

Security officials said, according to the newspaper, that “what is required is effective enforcement,” stressing the need for military and police operations to be accompanied by judicial procedures that achieve deterrence and prevent the rapid return of suspects to vacated sites.

This morning, the occupation forces began additional evacuations and arrested four other suspects as part of enforcement measures.

The Israeli security services consider law enforcement against “illegal” settlement outposts to be one of the possible tools to reduce friction and violence.

In addition to arrests, vehicle confiscations, and economic measures against suspects, this policy aims to prevent the continuation of “illegal” outposts and their transformation into recurring points of confrontation.

The challenge before the army, according to the report, is to transform the current reinforcements and wave of evacuations into a continuous policy, and not into a limited movement that comes in response to an exceptional incident.

In light of the international criticism sparked by the recent attacks, especially the attack on diplomats, the security services are seeking to show that dealing with the “national crime” is not limited to convictions and arrests, stressing that the actual test will be on the ground, through the scale of enforcement operations and the ability to prevent the re-establishment of “illegal” outposts and ensuring that those involved in acts of violence are subject to deterrent measures.

The attacks escalated during the fall season, coinciding with the olive harvest season in the West Bank, and this year received extensive international media coverage.

Last Friday, dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinian farmers who were picking olives in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, wounding two people, including Heidi Levin, a photographer for the American newspaper “The Washington Post.”

One day later, settlers attacked diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland, along with Israeli activists who were visiting an olive harvesting area near the village of Al-Taybeh, east of Ramallah.

This morning, the Israeli police announced the launch of an arrest campaign in the West Bank under the name “Olive Branch,” which resulted in the arrest of ten suspected settlers during the dawn hours, while operations continued during the morning hours.