Defense Minister Yisrael Katz and senior IDF officials held a meeting on Wednesday with the heads of the local authorities in the Shomron following the deadly terror attack near Kedumim on Monday, during which three Israelis were murdered.

Katz admitted that the Jews in the Shomron are living under an unprecedented threat level as Iran and other hostile entities are increasing their efforts in the arena, smuggling weapons and encouraging terrorism, and Israel may soon face an all-out war against the Palestinians in the area.

According to a Channel 12 News report, Katz said that the Defense Ministry “is preparing for an all-out war situation” in the Shomron and also discussed the fact that Hamas had initially planned to attack Jewish yishuvim in the Shomron during the October 7 massacre.

“Yehuda and Shomron have become a central arena on the map of threats to Israel, and we are preparing to respond accordingly, ” Katz said at the meeting.

“We are seeing increasing efforts to advance Palestinian terrorism in Yehudah and Shomron via the smuggling of advanced weapons, funding, and guidance from both the Iranian axis and the radical Sunni Islam axis that is strengthening its foothold in the region following the events in Syria. We will continue to operate vigorously against the wave of terror, strike at terrorists and their operators as well as those who shelter them – and ensure the security of the yishuvim.”

Katz added that he instructed the IDF to implement immediate measures to strengthen security in the area, including increased military activity, extensive counterterrorism operations in key areas, and increased enforcement of security measures at major intersections.

The head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, Yisrael Gantz, said at the meeting: “To our great regret, we have reached a situation where Yehudah and Shomron can no longer be treated as a secondary arena. Iran has established itself in our area and over half a million citizens of the State of Israel are sitting on a ticking bomb. We cannot continue to live here with the same perception that existed on October 6. The security situation in Yehudah and Shomron is a result of a policy that began with the Oslo Accords. Today is the time to change directives and operate at full strength until terror is eradicated in the entire area.”

Katz on Tuesday visited the site of the terror attack near the Arab village of al-Funduq and called the terror attack “an act of war” that “will be responded to accordingly.”

On Monday, Katz wrote on X that Israel will “not tolerate a Gaza-like reality in the Shomron.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)