Zamir orders Border Police reinforcements as nationalist violence and crime rise in West Bank

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir has decided to deploy an additional Border Police company to the Judea and Samaria Division to combat rising nationalist violence in the West Bank, following a recommendation from IDF Central Command, Walla learned on Monday.

The company, which will specialize in combating nationalist crime, will operate using IDF personnel allocations. It began training in August and is expected to take on dedicated operational missions in violence hotspots beginning in late November.

A security official familiar with the training process and operational preparations said, "A Border Police company is like adding two infantry battalions when it comes to nationalist crime. The marginal output of a Border Police company is much higher."

Katz: Israel Police must take full responsibility for nationalist violence in West Bank

Defense Minister Israel Katz said that responsibility for addressing serious violence by a small group of Jewish rioters in the West Bank must rest entirely with the Israel Police's Judea and Samaria Division, including prevention, investigation, and prosecution.

"The IDF should not and cannot engage in civilian law enforcement, but must instead fight Palestinian terrorism and protect the country's borders and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and along the seam line," Katz said.

Katz also reiterated that he would not reinstate administrative detention orders.

"Administrative detention orders are not the solution. Only strong and effective police enforcement," he said.

Katz had already announced a proposal in August to transfer authority for handling extremist Jewish activists’ problems from the IDF to the police, which was not coordinated with the relevant authorities and may yet be blocked, The Jerusalem Post learned.

Katz did not clear the issue with a number of top relevant IDF authorities before making the announcement, to the extent that until a meeting on Monday, many of them did not even understand what he was proposing.

New IDF company will be able to respond faster to incidents in West Bank

According to IDF assessments, the new company will be able to respond quickly to incidents of nationalist crime and serve as an operational arm for intelligence gathered by the Israel Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), including in cases of sudden outbreaks of violence.

In August, Zamir ordered the reinforcement of Judea and Samaria with two additional battalions following a sharp increase in the number of isolated farms and new communities in the area, accompanied by growing friction between Israelis and Palestinians, violence, and property damage.

The Judea and Samaria Division currently has four battalions deployed in each of its regional brigades. In addition, a headquarters of the IDF's 98th Division operates in the area to improve oversight, supervision, command, and control, including efforts to prevent nationalist crime.

IDF criticizes police leadership over lack of resources in West Bank

Meanwhile, criticism has emerged within the IDF over the Israel Police's senior leadership, which military officials say has failed to reinforce the Judea and Samaria Police District with additional personnel and resources despite the growing severity of nationalist crime incidents.

A security official noted that the IDF, not the Israel Police, allocates all Border Police positions in Judea and Samaria.

"The Israel Police can strengthen the Judea and Samaria District with more patrol cars and more investigators," the official added.

The IDF has praised the work of Judea and Samaria District commander Moshe Pinchi and the close cooperation between the military and the district. However, military officials maintain that the resources available to the district commander are insufficient.

"This is the smallest district in the police. It is about a third the size of all the other districts in the State of Israel. Why don't they have a special patrol unit to deal with nationalist crime?"