The Chairman of the Jewish Home party, Minister Naftali Bennett, said Tuesday morning that Hamas in Judea and Samaria is about to feel the full force of the IDF's wrath, as Operation Shuvu Achim – “Come Back, Brothers” – enters its fifth day.
"The game vis-a-vis Hamas in Judea and Samaria has completely changed following the abduction of the boys,” Bennett told IDF Radio. “We have the information that Hamas is behind it, and we are operating against Hamas with full force.”
"We are creating a situation in which Hamas's men become a nuisance for the Palestinian population; that their presence in Judea and Samaria will mean automatic damage, everywhere,” he explained. “In other words – we are turningmembership in Hamas into an entry pass into hell.”
Very large Nahal Brigade forces arrested over 40 Hamas terrorist suspects in the city of Shechem overnight.
A senior military source said that the activity focused on Shechem and the refugee neighborhoods in its vicinity following intelligence information that was obtained in the course of the last few days.
The IDF search operations have led to the confiscation of many weapons, including a laboratory for production of armaments. “We are utilizing the event to clean out the territory, as far as Hamas is concerned,” the source said.