Israel Prepares for Possible Third Intifada in the West Bank

Palestinian security forces during a visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to the Jenin refugee camp on July 12. (AFP)
Palestinian security forces during a visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to the Jenin refugee camp on July 12. (AFP)
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Israel Prepares for Possible Third Intifada in the West Bank

Palestinian security forces during a visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to the Jenin refugee camp on July 12. (AFP)
Palestinian security forces during a visit by President Mahmoud Abbas to the Jenin refugee camp on July 12. (AFP)

Israel’s security establishment is preparing for the possibility of a third intifada (uprising), a more likely scenario in the post-President Mahmoud Abbas era.

Israel's Ynet reported that the recent operation in Jenin and its refugee camp served as a miniature representation of a broader military conflict that could unfold in the West Bank, involving tens of thousands of armed militants, with an abundant supply of ammunition smuggled from Israel or across the Jordanian border, and lacking no financial resources.

According to the website, this is the scenario outlined by Israeli intelligence officers for the situation in the West Bank.

This scenario gained more prominence in the past week as Israeli security received another reminder of the escalating situation in the West Bank, following three attacks occurring within a single day, including two shooting incidents.

The report said it is the Israeli army that bears the cost of this situation, including reduced training for regular brigades, increased activation of reserve soldiers for operational duties, and incurring costs amounting to hundreds of millions of shekels.

In the span of a year and a half, only 13 battalions have been involved in current security missions in the West Bank.

Since the surge in attacks began, the number of battalions has increased by an average of 25.

This figure still stands at approximately a quarter of the battalions that operated in the West Bank during the peak of the second uprising nearly two decades ago.

This gap in the number of soldiers deployed in the field can largely be attributed to advanced technologies and artificial intelligence, which were not available 20 years ago.

Furthermore, Ynet revealed that the Israeli army command in the West Bank has recently renewed its operational plans for any anticipated escalation.

These new offensive plans are based on precise intelligence information prepared by the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, which believes that every household in Palestinian cities and villages contains some form of weaponry.

It asserts that an unprecedented and substantial quantity of arms, previously absent in the West Bank, is now present.



Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a "new page" in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was once a powerful armed movement and political party with sway over Lebanon's state, but it was severely weakened by Israel's bombing campaign last year. Since then, Lebanon's army commander was elected president and a new cabinet with curtailed influence for Hezbollah and its allies took power.

Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday was his first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli air strikes in September.

Araqchi told both Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi that he wanted to "turn a new page" in Iran's ties with Lebanon, according to statements by Salam and Raggi's offices.

"Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Salam's office said. Araqchi also extended a formal invitation for Salam to visit Iran.

The statement from Raggi's office said the pair had a "frank and direct discussion," including on establishing the state's monopoly on the use of arms - an apparent reference to possible negotiations on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal.

The top Iranian diplomat briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key Hezbollah ally. Unlike previous addresses by Iranian diplomats, his comments did not mention Hezbollah.

The visit followed several turbulent episodes in ties between the two countries.

Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over comments alleging that plans to disarm Hezbollah were a "conspiracy".

Last year, then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati also issued a rare rebuke of Iran for "interfering" in internal Lebanese affairs.

In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threats that it would bomb the planes.