Judea and Samaria Division
The Israel Defense Forces Judea and Samaria Division (Hebrew: אוּגְדָּת אֵזוֹר יְהוּדָה וְשׁוֹמְרוֹן, Ugdat Ezor Yehuda VeShomron; also known as the West Bank Division) is a regional division in the Israeli Central Command responsible for Israeli military activity in the Judea and Samaria Area.
The current commander of the division is Brigadier General Tamir Yаday, who was appointed to the position in April 2013. He replaces Brig. Gen. Hagai Mordechai, who served as Commander for about 18 months.
Mission
The division was established in 1988 after the outbreak of the First Intifadah. The division serves as a command level for all IDF forces in the West Bank, and as a results is engaged in an ongoing fight against Palestinian political violence within the Palestinian National Authority-administered territory, as well as against attempts by Palestinian militants to infiltrate Israel to commit suicide attacks.
The division is responsible for the seven Palestinian cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron.
The formal tasks of the division include confronting Palestinian political violence, confronting disturbances of law and order by Palestinians, securing transportation routes in the region, and defending Israeli settlements.
Activities
The division carries out various actions and arrests of Palestinian militants on a daily basis. This active level of operations often relies on the sayarot (Israeli special forces), units from the Central Command, the Duvdevan unit, and the Israel Border Police's Yamam.
The division's headquarters are located in the vicinity of Beit El, north of Ramallah.
Units
- Territorial units
- Divisional Signals Intelligence Battalion "Ofek"
- Duvdevan Undercover Strike Unit
- Hatuley HaBar Unit Heavy Engineer Company
The division also oversees the West Bank forces of the Israel Border Police, including the Yamas Unit, a special forces unit specializing in operating within the Palestinian population.