A counterterrorism operation by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) special forces in Jenin on Friday morning thwarted what officials described as an imminent attack on newly established communities in northern Samaria.
Dovdevan Unit commandos raided the Jenin area and arrested four terrorists who were trafficking weapons, according to the IDF. The four had previously operated as part of Jenin’s terror network, which was dismantled during Operation Iron Wall, and were believed to be planning attacks against communities established this week in the region.
1+The arrests came just days after families moved into Rom Gilboa, the third new community established in northern Samaria this week and the 11th in the past year. Thecommunity overlooks the Harod Valley, east of Ganim and Kadim, near Malkishua and Kibbutz Meirav—a strategic point from which terrorists previously fired on Meirav.
“We have the privilege of being the swamp-drainers of our generation,” said Yafit Alder, one of the pioneering families who moved to the site this week.
1+Rom Gilboa is part of the “Connection Plan” being advanced by the Samaria Regional Council together with the Amana movement and the Defense Ministry. The plan calls for establishing 19 new communities in northern Samaria—replacing the four communities evacuated during the 2005 disengagement—as part of the “Million in Samaria” vision.