Israel foils attack targeting settlement inauguration that may have targeted ministers, Channel 14 reports

BEIRUT — The Israeli military announced Friday that it had arrested three people in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, suspected of planning an “imminent attack” in the Palestinian territory. The announcement came a day after the inauguration ceremony of the Israeli settlement of Ganim, west of Jenin in the northern West Bank, which was attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz. According to Channel 14, the planned attack targeted the event, which was attended by several Israeli officials.

In a joint statement, the military, police and Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, said the three suspects — whose identities were not released — were “wanted for terrorist activities in Jenin, suspected of preparing an imminent attack.” They were handed over to Shin Bet for further questioning.

Channel 14, a right-wing Israeli outlet, reported that the thwarted attack targeted the Ganim settlement inauguration, which was attended by Katz and other officials.

“A cell made up of three terrorists affiliated with Hamas planned an attack on the inauguration ceremony of the Ganim [settlement], attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, as well as other officials, including Samaria governor Yossi Dagan and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. It is very likely that these three officials were the targets of this cell,” a Channel 14 reporter said.

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“The attempt specifically targeting the inauguration ceremony of Ganim proves the extent to which the enemy understands the strategic importance of an [Israeli] return to northern Samaria,” Dagan said, according to Channel 14, using the Israeli term “Judea-Samaria” for the West Bank.

According to the same outlet, the suspects were in three separate buildings and were arrested without resistance.

Ganim was one of four Israeli settlements in the West Bank evacuated as part of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s 2005 disengagement plan, along with Homesh, Sa-Nur and Kadim. Their isolated location in the northern West Bank, near the Palestinian city of Jenin, was one of the factors behind their evacuation.

Three of the four have since been rebuilt under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, amid a sharp acceleration in settlement construction and the legalization of outposts — often consisting of a few caravans or prefabricated structures built without government approval to establish a presence on the ground.

In Ganim, around two dozen prefabricated homes have already been installed. In recent days, the army has demolished businesses and blocked several dirt roads leading to Palestinian villages on either side of the road connecting Israel to the new settlement, piling up rubble.

“We have returned to Ganim — and we have returned to stay,” Katz said at the ceremony.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza, including near-daily settler attacks on Palestinian villages. More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, alongside around three million Palestinians.