In a narrow alley, shrouded in smoke and fire in Nur a-Shams Refugee Camp, we stopped the bulletproof jeep and went outside. Next to a house sprayed with bullets, the result of an encounter at close range, a number of fighters stood and looked at me in amazement, a civilian in the middle of war.
The activity of the forces in the refugee camp, photo: Hanan Greenwood
"You are the first Israeli reporter to enter the Nur a-Shams refugee camp since Operation Defensive Shield," smiled one of the officers. We went inside one of the houses. A kid's toy motorcycle, a small swing for toddlers and a few reusable bags of happiness Ad and Rami Levy greeted us. A powerful explosion could be heard in the distance as we delved deeper. Then we went out to what had once been part of the house, and before our eyes enough IEDs were discovered to destroy a company of fighters.
Hanan Greenwood
Shortly after Salah al-Arouri was killed, hundreds of fighters entered the refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm, a spitting distance from Route 6 and Netanya. Five battalions of fighters, a huge amount of firepower, the tenth operation in just two weeks. Since then, they have been inside, raiding from house to house, dismantling combat infrastructure that had been built there for many years. As of yesterday evening, more than 200 suspects had been detained for questioning, terrorists who threw IEDs were attacked from the air by aircraft, dozens of IEDs, some of which were destroyed, were discovered, along with a computer room and a large quantity of military equipment including binoculars, military clothing and tactical connections.
IEDs found by the fighters in the refugee camp,
In recent years, refugee camps have become nests of terror. Due to the high density and the fact that some of them are located in the heart of Area A, the IDF refrained from entering them. The result was an enormous risk to troops and entry with armored vehicles only. Their attempt to carry out severe attacks on Israel's home front was only a matter of time. A very short distance from the center of the country are some of the most difficult refugee camps, all in the area of the Menashe Regional Brigade – the famous and well-known Jenin Company Commander, Nur a-Shams, which some would say is even more problematic and sophisticated, and the Tulkarm refugee camp, where the forces have not yet operated intensively. That too will happen. Soon.
The activity of the forces, photo: Hanan Greenwood
Turn the wheel back
Now, alongside the war in Gaza, the Judea and Samaria Division has set out to destroy the threat posed to Israel's most populous area. The new division commander, Brigadier General Yaki Dolph, and Menashe Brigade commander Colonel Ayoub Kioff are leading highly offensive activity, with the aim of destroying the terrorists' capabilities. Dozens of large-scale operations were carried out in the Jenin refugee camp and in the Nur a-Shams refugee camp, with the declared goal of turning back the clock – allowing the forces to operate with full freedom of action, just as is happening everywhere else in the West Bank.
Hanan Greenwood
"Our vision is that the refugee camps will be like any other neighborhood in a Palestinian city in terms of our freedom of action. This is already happening in the Jenin refugee camp. This week there was an operation by a battalion sergeant who commanded a force of seven vehicles, like standard detention in the West Bank," says a senior source in the Judea and Samaria Division. According to estimates, this goal can be achieved within a few weeks if the fighting continues at the current intensity.
"Sisyphean work that brings change on the ground." The fighters in Nur ash Shams, photo: Hanan Greenwood
We drive in the armored jeep, on what was less than 24 hours ago a road. Beneath it were discovered powerful ground charges capable of losing our force. At the end of the ascent there is a large sign – an UNRWA compound, meters from a murder road. Nur a-Shams refugee camp is extremely dense, with 1,300 buildings and a population of 10,000. A crowded and dangerous pressure cooker that is now neutralized by the fighters.
"The terrorists make extensive use of civilian homes as sabotage laboratories, hospitals as places of refuge and shooting from mosques," the official said. "There is a mosque here from which they fired regularly, and its entire surroundings were completely booby-trapped. Today we returned to the building where terrorists set up a war room with a thousand cameras and an IED lab, and found that they had rebuilt the laboratory. It's Sisyphean work, but we see a change on the ground."
"The environment is completely booby-trapped." Nur ash Shams, Photo: Hanan Greenwood
Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Rotem, commander of Battalion 420, stands near the dozens of IEDs found. "The battalion came here last night and started searching. We found a cargo lab here. Projection charges of various sizes, a pressure cooker filled with explosives, to large boilers filled with explosives," he describes. Gunfire is heard very nearby and a powerful explosion shakes the area. The fighting is in full swing.
Continuing the fighting, photo: Hanan Greenwood
"Protect the road"
In a rather magnificent building we meet Lieutenant Colonel Zuri (reserves), commander of Battalion 9306. For almost three months now, its fighters have been carrying out extremely intensive activity, positions, patrols, pillboxes – and many arrest operations in places where Israel has not set foot in decades. "If you had told me a few months ago that reserve battalions would be in the heart of the toughest refugee camps in Judea and Samaria, I wouldn't have believed you," he says.
Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Zuri, commander of Battalion 9360,
The house where he and his warriors were found has everything you need in a modern house. Modern washing machine, air conditioner, you name it. Inside the building, they also found a military vest and tactical uniform. The men who lived in the house have not yet been found, terrorists who fled from the charging fighters. "We are within spitting distance of the center of the country, and our job is to restore the sense of security that has been lost. We are the citizens who enlisted on October 7, the people's army. Once a week I drove Route 6 as part of my job, and now my goal is to protect that road. Beat terrorism."
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