Since the October 7 massacre, residents of Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal, on the seam line in eastern Sharon, have feared a terrifying scenario of terrorists infiltrating from the nearby city of Qalqiliya and the surrounding Palestinian villages through tunnels.
Many residents of the pastoral settlement complain about the noise of excavations and vibrations in the ground. The IDF claims that there are no tunnels in the area, but the residents are not calm, and the local council intends to use a private company to conduct a geological survey.
Observation post and shooting at Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal towards Qalqilya, photo: None
Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal is home to quite a few veterans of the defense establishment, including former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom, Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, former deputy head of the National Security Council Eitan Ben-David and Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoel Strick. Apparently, they don't sleep well at night either.
Drilling noises and vibrations
"I live on the eastern side of the community, and the perimeter fence is 200 meters from my house," says Baruch Ben-Neria. "Between me and the fence there are houses that are even closer to the fence, sitting 40 meters from it. Quite a few times I felt tremors under my bed, like earthquakes. The bed moved, and so did the walls. I had a feeling something was going on under the bedroom. And it lasted quite a while, not something short of a few seconds. At some point I was convinced that it was an earthquake, but after October 7, the tokens fell to me: maybe someone was really making an effort and drilling to infiltrate the community.
"After October 7, there is no wisdom, and we must not say maybe. I always thought that in the rocky soil we are above it is very difficult to dig and drill. But I heard an explanation from a geologist who said that among the large rocks there is soil that can be dug and drilled. This is what happened in the Upper Galilee, on the Lebanese border. Hezbollah found the paths between the rocks and dug tunnels. It can be here too.
Baruch Ben-Neria. "You can dig into the ground between the rocks", photo: None
"After the massacre in the envelope, we realized that anything could be and that we couldn't be sure of anything. The terrorists can dig a tunnel under the fence, exit behind it and enter the nearest houses. They'll take over ten houses, and go take care of it now. It might be, God forbid, like the story of Kibbutz Be'eri. I'm not calm about the IDF's answer that there are no tunnels. Terrorists can pop up anywhere. Today they have the means to dig tunnels and penetrate communities."
Yigal Sagi is also a concerned resident: "We live here in fear that tunnels will be built under the community, and that one day terrorists will penetrate here. The tremors that residents feel here cannot be explained by earthquakes. There are no earthquakes of this frequency, so the likelihood that woke up and strengthened after October 7 is that something is happening below, otherwise residents would not hear and feel.
Yigal Sagi. "There are no earthquakes of this frequency", photo: none
"The southern part of the community is 300 meters from Qalqilya, and this proximity is a great threat. Qalqiliya is a large Palestinian city near a small Jewish community, and theoretically they could flood it with terrorists. There could be the same story here that unfortunately happened in the envelope. After what happened there, the warnings here need to be dealt with in the most serious way."
Sagi also doesn't trust the IDF's decision: "I'm not calm about the army's answers. The old concept still exists. When you discover something, you immediately say, 'It must be a well of water.' A reservist has now found a tunnel in the Mount Hebron area and photographed it. The military people came and said, 'This is probably a well.' But when you see the photographs, where the route splits into rooms, it's clear that it's a tunnel. So don't sell us it's a well."
25.<> miles from Tel Aviv
Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal has a population of just over ten thousand. On the southern side of the village, only a few hundred meters away, lies Qalqiliya, within the Palestinian Authority. On its eastern side, also a few hundred meters away, are the Palestinian villages of Falama, Kafr Jamal, Jayyus and 'Azzun.
Immediately after October 7, the alert squad in the community was reinforced with dozens of reservists. Three firing and observation posts were set up to Qalqiliya and the Palestinian villages, manned by reservists 24/7. One of the positions is equipped with a mag machine gun. The entrance gate is also staffed by reservists.
Elimination of the terrorist squad in Qalqilya // Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Office
"Residents complain about excavations, about shaking in their homes, about the sounds of digging, they wake up from sleep from these noises," explains Yuval Arad, head of the local council. "Until 7 October, what bothered our residents were property crimes, and today they are bothered by the thought that masses of Palestinians will invade Qalqilya and rush into the community. A tunnel runs under the barrier, so you don't see the terrorists when they try to cross inside. This is a real concern, and God forbid we underestimate it."
According to Arad, the capabilities to dig tunnels, like those of Hamas, also exist in Judea and Samaria. "It looks the same, it sounds the same, it smells the same - so apparently it's the same. I think that the State of Israel needs to change the diskette and understand that this threat is real.
Council head Yuval Arad: "The Ministry of Finance sees us as a privileged community in the center of the country, but we are 300 meters away from the threat. That's why we have to be strong, because we are the soft underbelly of the State of Israel."
"I don't think anyone today has the right to disparage it, to sweep their concerns aside and say, 'This isn't real.' We take the matter seriously, and that's why I bring it to the army and to the decision makers. We are also examining contracting with a private company that knows how to conduct a geological examination of the presence of tunnels."
Arad warns that infiltrating his community will also endanger Tel Aviv. "We know that if these Palestinians infiltrate and pass us, nothing will stop them from reaching the center. Tel Aviv is only 25 km away from us. They will get on Route 5 with Toyotas and race to Tel Aviv. Therefore, we must be strong enough, because we are the soft underbelly of the State of Israel.
Yuval Arad. "The state needs to change a floppy disk and understand that it's tangible," Photo: None
"I say to people in the treasury: You see us as a privileged community in the center of the country, but we see Qalqiliya 300 meters from the window. That's the real threat. In the south of the country, a terrible massacre happened, but Tel Aviv is far from Kfar Gaza. If terrorists penetrate Qalqilya, they reach Kfar Saba and Tel Aviv. This horror scenario is real and concrete."
Maintaining the alert force
At the observation post and the shooting at Qalqilya, Arad explains: "In mid-October, a terrorist was killed here when he tried to cross the fence with an improvised Carlo submachine gun. The IDF conducts nightly fighting inside Qalqilya. This is the threat scenario that the residents of the community here fear. If by October 7 the threat from Qalqilya was not concrete, since then it has become a concern for the residents, and we need to provide a response."
Arad fears that at some point it will be decided to reduce the alert force protecting the community. "We look at what happened on October 7 in the south. Where there was no active alert force, the penetration and damage were more severe. Therefore, this immediate intervention force must be skilled, available and equipped.
The town's war room. "The matter is being taken seriously", Photo: None
"After the massacre in the envelope, we set up an alert force. There are almost 100 people here with weapons recruited under Order 8. They do shifts here 24/7. But later they will be released, and who will guard the community? Will the army step into their shoes? Will they give us resources to hire people and fund guarding? This disturbs us.
"The positions, the patrols, the soldiers under Order 8, the increased security in kindergartens and educational institutions – all these are part of the response, but in the end the council cannot establish a private army. It's not in our authority or in our abilities. Therefore, our demand is to increase the forces on the fence, to give resources to the authorities, and also to invest resources in accelerating the construction of a massive fence and technological capabilities, so that the residents' sense of security will return."
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