Following Tuesday morning’s terror attack in the Jordan Valley, leaders of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria called on the government to stop releasing imprisoned Arab terrorists and to extend Israeli sovereignty to their communities.
Six soldiers were injured — two more were killed — when an Arab terrorist breached a military compound adjacent to a checkpoint near the Palestinian Authority village of Tayasir and opened fire on troops.
“The Israeli government has a duty to decisively defeat Arab terrorism and to announce the application of Israeli sovereignty, which will prevent the establishment of a terror state in the heart of the country,” said the Yesha Council in a statement. The Yesha Council is an umbrella organization for all the communities in Judea and Samaria, representing the interests of around 500,000 Israelis.
The ongoing first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Arab terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many are alive. So far, 18 hostages — 13 Israelis and five Thais — have been released.
While some of the terrorists have been deported to Gaza or abroad, most are returning to their homes in Judea and Samaria.
“I call on the prime minister and the defense minister to give instructions for the targeted elimination of all terror heads, and to stop any thought of releasing terrorists to Judea and Samaria,” said Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council.
On Saturday night, Defense Minister Israel Katz tweeted a warning to high profile Arab terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, not to return to terror after he was freed on Thursday.
“Zakariah Zubaidi, you were released in an agreement for the release of Israeli hostages – one mistake and you’re going to meet old friends,” Katz tweeted. “We will not accept support for terrorism.”
Many of the 1,027 terrorists freed in the Gilad Shalit exchange of 2011 returned to terror, including Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attacks. Ronen Bar, head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), reportedly told government ministers in January that 82% of the prisoners released for Shalit returned to terror.
The Israel Defense Forces launched an ongoing counterterror raid in the Jenin refugee camp on Jan. 19 that has since expanded to the Palestinian Authority towns of Tulkarem and Tubas. More than 50 terrorists have been killed and over 100 more arrested. Troops have seized weapons and uncovered a bomb-making laboratory.
Since the October 7 attacks, Israeli forces have arrested 6,000 wanted Arabs in counterterror operations in Judea and Samaria. Around 40 percent were affiliated with Hamas.
The comments come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington and is due to meet with President Donald Trump. Asked by reporters on Monday night, Trump did not rule out the possibility of Israel extending its sovereignty over portions of Judea and Samaria.
