IDF bans Palestinian workers from Israeli settlements in West Bank after string of terror attacks

ByAMIR BOHBOTJULY 26, 2026 00:49Updated: JULY 26, 2026 01:59Following the recent series of terror attacks in the West Bank, IDF Central Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth banned Palestinian workers from entering Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, a source told Walla on Saturday night. Should Israeli community members request it, exceptions can be made for industrial areas and construction sites, the source added.This comes after Palestinian terrorists carried out a string of attacks against Israeli residents of the West Bank throughout Thursday and Friday.On Thursday morning, 51-year-old Itamar Cohen was seriously wounded after two Palestinians attacked him, stabbing him in the chest at the Derech Avraham Farm near Elon Moreh. Cohen is a member of the town's security team and was at the scene in order to put out a fire that had been set by Palestinian residents of Beit Furik, a nearby village. Cohen's two attackers were killed at the scene. Later on Thursday, a terrorist stabbed a man in the leg in the Ganim area of the West Bank and was subsequently killed by IDF soldiers. Israeli security forces at the scene of a stabbing attack near the Israeli settlement of Alon Moreh, in the West Bank, July 23, 2026 (credit: HILEL BEN OR/FLASH90)IDF kills terrorist who fatally shot two Israelis, wounded three others in West BankOn Friday morning, two Israelis, including an IDF officer, were killed and several others were lightly to seriously wounded in a terror shooting near Gilad Farm, a settlement located southwest of Nablus in the northern West Bank.The two victims were later identified as 32-year-old Benayahu Melet and 27-year-old Major Yuval Ezra.According to the IDF, a group of Israeli civilians had illegally crossed into Palestinian Authority-controlled territory while hiking in the area. The military said Palestinians confronted the group and began throwing rocks before one of them opened fire.The IDF said troops and other security forces rushed to the scene, where they exchanged fire with the suspected attackers.The head of Gilad Farm's emergency response squad also responded to the incident, along with other squad members. At approximately 8:20 a.m., reports were received of a gunshot wound after Palestinians stole the weapon of the emergency response squad chief and fired at the Israelis, Walla learned.The IDF conducted a manhunt for the terrorist, locating and killing him after the shooting incident.IDF locates weapon stolen by Palestinian man during confrontation, rock throwing with IsraelisOn Saturday, two Israeli men, one of them an active-duty soldier, were injured in a violent incident in the Susiya Junction near the Hebron Hills, West Bank, when a Palestinian man threw stones towards them and stole a weapon from them.The IDF clarified in a statement that, contrary to initial reports, the incident was not a shooting attack but a violent clash that included stone-throwing against the Israeli civilians.The statement added that the attacker took the weapon from one of the civilians involved, at which point shots were fired into the air.The Mount Hebron Council confirmed that one of the men involved was a local farmer from the area and the other one was an active-duty soldier who was on leave at home.Security and armed forces were deployed to the area and conducted an extensive search to find the attacker, with the military adding that the stolen weapon was located and recovered.Israeli forces located and returned the weapon to the solider. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)Following this attack, the IDF conducted a large-scale operation on Saturday night, arresting more than 70 terror suspects from the West Bank. James Genn and Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.Follow us on Google