The IDF is taking off the gloves in Judea and Samaria, as well. In a joint IDF-Shin Bet operation, a terror tunnel was struck at the al-Ansari mosque in the city of Jenin. The mosque housed a Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad team which planned to carry out a terror attack in the immediate future.
As in Gaza, the terror squads exploited the mosque as a safe haven for launching attacks. The Air Force Strike took out a Hamas and PIJ terror squad responsible for a series of attacks in the last few months and which planned another one. These attacks included an attack near the Separation Fence on October 14, with a remote-controlled bomb exploded against a nearby military force. There were no casualties.
Terror mosque bombed in Jenin. (Video: IDF Spokesperson)
Intelligence had reached security forces that the terrorists planned to carry out a mass attack. The mosque served the terrorists as an operational war room for planning attacks and launching them. During Operation Home and Garden, the IDF found terror infrastructure and weapons in the mosque.
Due to legal guidance, the IDF avoided striking targets from the air for years, preferring to send special forces on foot into hostile territory. The Palestinians have begun using anti-personnel bombs against them, however, and the IDF seems to have understood that it’s simpler to bomb from the air like they do in Gaza.
