Published On 7/11/2025
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Last update: 14:44 (Mecca time)
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir froze a plan to reduce reserve forces in the Army Central Command, amid an assessment of the security situation with the political leadership, and following warnings from the General Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the objection of an extremist minister.
According to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Friday, the Shin Bet provided data showing that more than 1,200 attacks had been thwarted since the beginning of the year, which prompted Zamir to approve freezing a plan to reduce the number of forces operating in the occupied West Bank.
The newspaper explained that the army was considering reducing its forces deployed in the West Bank, and transferring a large part of security responsibility to what are known as “local emergency teams,” before the Chief of Staff decided to freeze the plan after evaluating the security conditions with the political leadership.
She indicated that the decision was taken during the security cabinet meeting yesterday evening, Thursday, following warnings from the Shin Bet and the objection of the Minister of Settlement from the “Religious Zionism” party, Orit Struck, to this step.
Yedioth Ahronoth said that during the meeting, Struck objected to the plan, because it “endangers settlers” and contradicts a previous government decision last January.
According to the newspaper, the army strengthened its presence around West Bank settlements after October 7, 2023, and deployed thousands of reserve soldiers to prevent attacks or infiltration attempts.
There are no official Israeli estimates about the number of soldiers deployed in the West Bank, but the army has repeatedly reinforced its forces there since the start of the extermination war in the Gaza Strip on October 8, 2023.