Settlers Angry.. Occupation Army Heads Towards Reducing Its Forces Inside Settlements in the West Bank

Translation by SadaNews: The Israeli occupation army is heading towards a significant reduction in the number of its forces deployed within the settlements in the West Bank, a year after the outbreak of the war in October 2023.

Following the October 7 operation, the occupation army bolstered its presence in the settlements, aided by thousands of personnel in spatial defense to prevent a repeat of the surprise attack scenario witnessed in Gaza. Since then, the number of troops has fluctuated according to the assessments of the battlefield situation; however, the "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper revealed that the current direction is towards a considerable reduction in soldiers while maintaining effective guarding duties, as translated by SadaNews.

Israeli military sources confirmed that the final decision has not yet been made, pointing out a series of meetings held in recent months with local authority heads, during which a gradual reduction in spatial defense criteria was prepared.

In this context, Knesset member Tzvi Suqot, from the "Religious Zionism" party, sent a message to the Chief of Staff of the occupation army, General Eyal Zamir, indicating that directives were issued to reduce the "Hagamer" forces in the West Bank by up to 30% in the coming weeks, paving the way for their complete termination, without returning local soldiers to their previous positions.

As reported by Yedioth Ahronoth, "this reduction has raised widespread concern among settlers, especially in light of the increasing gaps between actual defense needs and what is provided by current civil defense allocations. Military officials have informed settlers that filling these gaps will occur through activating the protective order for the settlements, which transfers the responsibility for security to the settlers themselves."

Suqot warned in his message about the repercussions of this direction, considering that small settlements with low population densities cannot bear the required security costs, and that imposing significant financial burdens on settlers for their personal security is unacceptable, especially since their security is supposed to be the state's responsibility.

He added that stopping the activities of the public defense force without providing an alternative or redeploying them will leave communities with a lower defensive level than they had before the outbreak of the war, at a time when security threats are escalating.

For its part, the Israeli occupation army responded that recent assessments were conducted regarding troop distribution, and that units would be informed of the developments in an organized manner upon making decisions. It confirmed that preparation teams in the West Bank settlements have become equipped and trained, in addition to reinforcing defense personnel within them, alongside the presence of combat forces deployed in the area.