Israel and the West Bank
On September 26, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed three Israeli security officers at a checkpoint to the entrance of Har Adar, a settlement in Samaria. Other guards on duty shot and killed the attacker, a 37-year-old father who had a license to work at the settlement. The Israeli government later announced it would destroy the home of the terrorist.
Israeli security forces detained 23 people during a series of overnight raids in the West Bank on October 2. Some of the suspects arrested near the village of Bani Naim were part of an arms smuggling network that acquired sniper rifles.
Israeli soldiers arrested members of a Palestinian cell that had attempted to set off a roadside bomb near the Jewish community of Migdal Oz. The military did not release the number of people detained in connection with the incident.
The Israel Defense Forces launched an investigation into a series of recent drone crashes in late September. Two hand-launched Elbit Skylark drones were recovered after landing in Bethlehem and outside of Hebron.
In preparation for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the IDF Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced that it would close certain border crossing in the West Bank and Gaza for 11 days. The IDF often seals checkpoints for the Jewish holidays amid security concerns.
Gaza
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah visited the Hamas-run government in Gaza earlier this week. The prime minister talked up plans to revive a reconciliation government with Hamas, a move that Fatah has attempted multiple times since losing control of Gaza in 2007. Hamdallah also spoke about ways to address the humanitarian needs and economic suffering of Gazans.
Golan Heights
Two IDF soldiers died in a training accident early on the morning of September 27 after the armored vehicle they were in veered into a ditch. Four other soldiers were injured during the incident, which the IDF said it would investigate.
Military investigators were called to an IDF combat engineering base in the Golan Heights in early October after mines and other explosive devices were found missing during a routine audit.
Sinai
Islamic State’s Sinai affiliates released photos of five civilians they had killed in late September. The group accused the victims, three elderly men and two children, of working as informants for Egyptian security forces in al-Arish, the provincial capital.
The Egyptian military announced on September 25 that it had killed six jihadists and arrested another 31 in recent operations in Sinai.
The Middle East Monitor reported that despite travel warnings, thousands of Israeli tourists are vacationing in Sinai resorts. According to the Egyptian government, over 10,000 Israelis have visited South Sinai in September, up approximately 30 percent over last year.
