IDF launches operation in West Bank after bus explosions

RT
Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:59 UTC

© Ilia Yefimovich/picture alliance/Getty Images

Israeli forensics officers inspect three empty buses that exploded in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam.

Police are investigating the bombing as a terrorist attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a military incursion in the West Bank after three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement:

"The prime minister has ordered the IDF to carry out an intensive operation against centers of terrorism in Judea and Samaria. The prime minister also ordered the Israel Police and the ISA to increase preventative activity against additional attacks in Israeli cities."

According to the Times of Israel, the police discovered and neutralized two more bombs on buses after three empty vehicles exploded in the suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon. The prime minister's office described the incident as "an attempt to perpetrate a chain of mass bus bombings."

Tel Aviv Police Chief Haim Sargarof told reporters that the attack "looks like something [that originated] in the West Bank."

Last month, the IDF launched a large-scale "anti-terrorism operation" in the Jenin refugee camp, which was later expanded to the Tulkarem refugee camp. According to Al Jazeera, the incursion is the largest IDF action in the area since 1967.

The fighting has displaced 40,000 Palestinians from the northern parts of the West Bank, the UN said.

The escalation takes place a month into the Hamas-Israel ceasefire, which halted combat operations in Gaza. The Palestinian militant group has since released dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinians released from Israeli prisoners.

Comment: Real or staged, it's hard to tell. Israel has mastered all the moves as the PTB 'cry wolf'.
But wait, there's more:

Shin Bet arrests three suspects in bus bombings...including Israeli Jews:

Four explosive devices, each weighing about five kilograms and equipped with a timer, were placed on at transportation depots in the Tel Aviv area.

It was reported on Friday that the Shin Bet arrested three suspects for allegedly assisting in planting explosive devices on buses in the Tel Aviv area, in what authorities believe was a botched terror attack. It was also reported that some of the detainees identified as Jewish Israelis.

While security forces continue investigating the suspected attack — in which bombs exploded on three buses at two Bat Yam depots — extensive searches were conducted Friday morning on public buses across major cities, with the IDF deployed three reinforcement battalions to the West Bank.

One of the bombs bore the inscription "Revenge from Tulkarm," with Hamas' terror branch in the West Bank city later hinting at its involvement. In response, the Transportation Ministry ordered overnight inspections of all bus depots, with security reinforcements extended to the Jerusalem light rail and increased police presence across public transportation hubs.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi directed forces to intensify operations along security zones based on intelligence findings.

As part of these efforts, three additional IDF battalions from the Kfir, Nahal, and Commando brigades were deployed to the West Bank on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the IDF confirmed that the main phase of 'Operation Iron Wall', aimed at dismantling terrorist networks in northern West Bank refugee camps, has concluded.

While forces completed sweeps in Jenin and other key locations, a permanent Kfir Brigade unit remains for ongoing raids, particularly in Tulkarm and Nur Shams.

Following a late-night security briefing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the suspected attack and vowed a forceful response against West Bank terror networks. Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a ramping up of operations in West Bank refugee camps, stating:

"We will hunt down the terrorists relentlessly and dismantle the terror infrastructure that serves as an outpost for Iran's axis of evil. Any residents who harbor terrorists will pay a heavy price."