An IDF soldier posted a video on social media on Wednesday revealing that he discovered a tunnel shaft in an illegally inhabited area near a Palestinian village in the Har Chevron area of the Palestinian Authority.

“After months of residents of the yishuvim of Telem and Adora hearing the sounds of digging, we set out to search the houses in the area, houses to which the Palestinian Authority sends the residents of Tarqumiyah [a PA city near Chevron] to settle [illegally] on State land in Area C,” the soldier said. “To our surprise, we found a tunnel that looks just like the Hamas infrastructure we’re familiar with from the Gaza Strip.”

The soldier said that the tunnel shaft descends five meters deep, where it connects to inner rooms – “preparation for terror infrastructure – only several meters from the Telem yishuv,” he said.

However, it turned out that the soldier had posted the video on his own, without the army’s permission. The IDF claims that the tunnel was probably for rainwater. However, most Israeli social media users are not convinced by that assertion, saying that the video definitely reveals a terror tunnel. Many Israelis commented that they have no faith in the IDF’s assertions in the wake of the October 7th massacre, with some commenting that the IDF is ruled by leftists.

The IDF spokesman’s response: “Upon receiving the report, professionals were sent to investigate and inspect the opening in the ground. From a preliminary examination, it appears that it is probably a preparation for a septic tank for rainwater. Security forces are treating the matter seriously and are investigating to rule out terrorist involvement.”

In 2021, the IDF found a tunnel that connected several Palestinian villages in Yehudah.

Residents of several areas in Israel have reported hearing the sounds of digging in recent months.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)