Judea and Samaria Division

The Israel Defense Forces Judea and Samaria Division (Hebrew: אוּגְדָּת אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן, Ugdat Ezor Yehuda VeShomron; also known as the West Bank Division) is a regional division in the Israeli Central Command. It is responsible for Israeli military activity in the Judea and Samaria Area, presently under Israeli-occupation. The current commander of the division is Brigadier General Yaniv Alaluf,[1] who was appointed to the position in September 2019.

Judea and Samaria Division

Mission

The division was established in 1988 after the outbreak of the First Intifadah. The division serves as a command level for all IDF forces in the West Bank, and as a results is engaged in an ongoing fight against Palestinian political violence within the Palestinian National Authority-administered territory, as well as against attempts by Palestinian militants to infiltrate Israel to commit suicide attacks.

The division is responsible for the seven Palestinian cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron.

The formal tasks of the division include confronting Palestinian political violence, confronting disturbances of law and order by Palestinians, securing transportation routes in the region, and defending Israeli settlements.

Activities

The division carries out various actions and arrests of Palestinian militants on a daily basis. This active level of operations often relies on the sayarot (Israeli special forces), units from the Central Command, the Duvdevan unit, and the Israel Border Police's Yamam.

The division's headquarters are located in the vicinity of Beit El, north of Ramallah.

Units
  • 877th "Judea and Samaria" Division
    • Menashe Territorial Brigade around Jenin
    • Ephraim Territorial Brigade around Tulkarm and Qalqilyah
    • Samaria Territorial Brigade around Nablus
    • Binyamin Territorial Brigade around Ramallah
    • Etzion Territorial Brigade around Bethlehem
    • Yehuda Territorial Brigade around Hebron
    • Division Signal Battalion "Ofek"
    • 636th "Nitzan/Bud" Field Intelligence Battalion
    • "Erez" Military Police Battalion
    • "Ta’oz" Military Police Battalion
    • "Hatuley HaBar/Wild Cats" Heavy Engineer Company

The division also oversees the West Bank forces of the Israel Border Police, including the Yamas Unit, a special forces unit specializing in operating within the Palestinian population.

See also

References
  1. Brig. Gen. Yaniv Alaluf assumes duties as the commander of Judea and Samaria division" (Hebrew), IDF website, 22 September 2019.
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