Iran delays renewing Hamas financial support over failure to undermine West Bank stability - report

A senior Hamas delegation visited Tehran in early September, according to the Kan report, which noted that the delegates met with senior Iranian officials.

Iran is delaying Hamas's request to renew financial support for the organization due to its disappointment with Hamas's inability to undermine overall security stability in the West Bank, KAN News reported on Tuesday evening.

A senior Hamas delegation visited Tehran in early September, according to the KAN report, which noted that the delegates met with senior Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.

A Palestinian source told KAN that the Hamas delegation asked the Iranian regime representatives to renew its financial support, which had been frozen due to recent alleged "stress" on the budget.

Due to their "dissatisfaction" over Hamas's failure to influence the situation in the West Bank, Iran made no commitment to renew Hamas funding, the source told KAN.

IDF warns of rising West Bank tensions despite low terror levels, pushes for preventive operations

In mid-September, Israeli officials noted that despite the fact that West Bank terror levels were at the lowest point since 2011, Hamas headquarters in other locations (Turkey, Gaza, Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, and others) were likely to attempt to advance terror plots targeting Israelis and IDF soldiers. 

The low level of terror activity is attributed to combined operations by the Judea and Samaria Division, commanded by Brig.-Gen. Kobi Heller, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Israel Police and Border Police.

Ahead of the recent Jewish holidays, the Judea and Samaria Division carried out extensive preventive operations, targeting not only suspects involved in terror activity but also incitement hubs, in an effort to minimize the potential for attacks in the area.

IDF reinforces West Bank amid growing tensions as settlers, Palestinians clash in villages

More recently, the IDF reinforced its West Bank division to a total of approximately 25 battalions amid growing tensions, violent confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians, and security establishment concerns over a wave of lone-wolf terrorism and organized terrorist infrastructure, as tens of thousands of Israeli hikers arrived in the area on September 27.

In addition, a divisional headquarters responsible for the Judea and Etzion regional brigades was deployed to the area.

Despite the reinforcements, military officials warned that the situation on the ground remained highly volatile. One of them told Walla that "all it would take is a friction incident between Palestinians and Israelis that spirals out of control, is caught on video, and ignites the area."

This comes amid several recent instances of settler violence in the West Bank.