The Israel Defense Forces over the past year rescued more than 200 people—civilians and soldiers—from territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority and other unsafe areas in Judea and Samaria, Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, head of the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, said on Wednesday.
Ibrahim spoke during a meeting with local leaders from Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
“This is also an opportunity to express deep gratitude to the soldiers and officers of the [Civil Administration] unit for the actions they carry out day and night for the benefit of the entire area, most of which cannot be detailed,” Arutz 7 quoted general Ibrahim as saying.
“Since October 7, the officers of the unit rescued more than 200 Israelis, including soldiers, from [P.A.-controlled] Area A and other dangerous places in the area. Every single one of these incidents had the potential to set the area on fire and, God forbid, cause bodily harm,” he added.
Terrorism has been on the rise across Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley since Hamas launched its cross-border terrorist assault on the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, despite security forces carrying out counter-terror operations in Area A over the past months.
Areas A, B, and C are three administrative zones in Judea and Samaria established with the Oslo Accords. Area A is under P.A. civil and security control. Area B is governed by the Palestinians but has joint Israeli-P.A. security. Area C, roughly 60% of the territory, is under full Israeli control.
Under Israeli law, it is illegal for Jews to enter Area A, and large red signs warning Israelis not to enter these areas have dotted the entrances to Palestinian Authority-controlled villages.
In June, a female IDF soldier with security clearance was arrested after illegally visiting Ramallah in Samaria to visit her Palestinian secret lover.
During questioning by the IDF Military Police officers, the soldier initially claimed to have gone to Ramallah to buy drugs, before admitting to having a relationship with a Palestinian man.
That same month, an Israeli man was shot and killed after entering the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Qalqilya in western Samaria.
He was identified as Amnon Muchtar, 66, from Petach Tikvah in central Israel. The father of five owned a vegetable store and traveled to Qalqilya to buy produce.