Israeli intelligence uncovers Iran’s massive arms smuggling into Judea and Samaria, seeking to transform it into a Gaza-style terror stronghold.
In a chilling escalation, Iran has launched a covert campaign to arm terrorist factions across Judea and Samaria, smuggling sophisticated weaponry through Jordan and Lebanon in a bid to turn the region into a second Gaza, according to Israeli intelligence sources cited by the Washington Free Beacon.
Israeli analysts warn that Tehran’s endgame is clear: to replicate the horror of October 7 inside Israel’s heartland — this time within striking distance of Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem.
Since the Trump-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last month, Islamic Jihad — Iran’s primary proxy in the West Bank — has shifted its operational focus to the area. Joined by Hamas cells, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the coalition now counts 28 active terror groups, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
The terror cells have obtained weapons previously unseen in Judea and Samaria — explosive drones, anti-tank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and short-range rockets, all smuggled in via covert Iranian routes. The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported Hamas’s declaration that Judea and Samaria will “continue to be a leading arena of resistance.”
Recent Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operations have exposed just how far Iran’s reach extends:
- A drone from Jordan carrying 10 firearms intercepted mid-air.
- A Quds Force shipment seized in October containing 15 anti-tank rockets, 29 explosive devices, and four armed drones.
- Multiple smuggling attempts through Lebanon, thwarted in July by Israeli forces.
In February, the IDF foiled a catastrophic Iranian-backed terror plot planned from the Nur Shams refugee camp, where operatives from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades planted explosives on buses across three cities. A premature detonation prevented mass civilian casualties. The David Institute for Security Policy called the episode “a stark warning” of Iran’s strategy to destabilize Israel from within.
Photos from a Hebron weapons depot revealed homemade missile assembly lines, confirming that Iran’s terror proxies are now producing munitions locally — echoing Hamas’s industrial-scale buildup in Gaza after Israel’s 2005 withdrawal.
Israeli security officials are treating Judea and Samaria as “the next Gaza” unless swift, decisive action is taken. “Iran is betting that the world will look away,” one senior officer said. “But Israel has no luxury for denial — this is an existential threat from Tehran’s shadow army.”
