Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged immediate action on Wednesday after Palestinian terrorists fired on central Israel from northern Samaria for the second time this week.
“The terrorists in Judea and Samaria must be fought as in the Gaza Strip. They must not be allowed to do what they did on the seventh of October in the Gaza Envelope in the Sharon region,” tweeted Smotrich, who oversees civilian issues in Judea and Samaria in the Defense Ministry.
“Terrorism must be eradicated everywhere, even if it means Tulkarem will look like Gaza looks today,” he added.
On Monday, Hamas published footage of masked gunmen opening fire with automatic weapons at Bat Hefer, an Israeli village east of Netanya that borders the Green Line with Samaria.
A second attack on Bat Hefer took place on Wednesday morning, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported, adding that neither shooting caused any casualties. In the latest footage, three terrorists wearing full combat gear can be seen firing at the town.
בפעם השנייה ביומיים האחרונים: מחבלי חמאס מתעדים את עצמם יורים מאזור טולכרם לעבר בת חפר. אין נפגעים pic.twitter.com/Rp270bEAtE
— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) May 29, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that troops were searching the area, adding that “impacts have thus far not been identified” and that forces are “working to locate those who perpetrated the gunfire.”
Smotrich said that he had spoken with Galit Shaul, the head of the Hefer Valley Regional Council, and that the two had agreed to meet “to address the immediate needs as a result of the worsening threat to the residents.”
“Once again, we received a reminder this morning that those who consent to the establishment of a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land [of Israel] will bring existential danger to the State of Israel,” said Smotrich.
Shaul also sent a letter to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday urging an emergency meeting on the situation, according to local media reports.
Gideon Sa’ar, who leads the New Hope Party, stated that the repeated gunfire at Bat Hefer was “intolerable and necessitates immediate and effective treatment” and urged the “failed” War Cabinet to “wake up.”
Also on Monday, some 30 Palestinians advanced toward Bat Hefer after they managed to climb over the Samaria security fence near Tulkarem, local media reported. Security camera footage showed the infiltrators climbing the wall using a rope and entering vehicles on the other side.
Judea and Samaria saw a dramatic rise in Palestinian terrorist attacks in 2023 compared to the previous year, with shootings reaching their highest level since the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005, according to IDF data.