Israel Defense Forces (IFD) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi visited the Jordan Valley on August 27 and met with the heads of local municipalities. His visit took place several hours before the IDF launched a major multi-pronged operation overnight between August 27 and August 28 against terrorist cells in the northern West Bank. Halevi’s trip also took place a day after he met with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q Brown.
Halevi’s visit to the Jordan Valley is important, as it illustrates how important this area has become in terms of counterterrorism operations and wider regional threats to Israel.
Halevi arrived by helicopter to the Jordan Valley, where he met with commanders and was provided a security briefing on the area. In footage of his visit distributed by the IDF, he is seen viewing maps with officers and meeting with local Israeli leaders and members of the brigade responsible for securing the Jordan Valley.
The valley has held strategic importance for Israel for many years. In the 1960s, it was threatened by Palestinian terror groups based in Jordan. In the last two decades, mines have been cleared in some portions of the Jordan Valley, and the area has been mostly peaceful. However, in the previous two years, Iranian-backed smuggling attempts have been detected, and other threats have developed there.
The threats in the Jordan Valley form one flank of the overall emerging terror threat in the northern West Bank, which has been growing for years and led to clashes in places like Jenin. However, since the October 7 Hamas attack, clashes have increased in places like Nur Shams near Tulkarm, Qalqilya, and other areas. Several of these localities are Palestinian towns, such as Tubas, that overlook the valley.
For instance, a shooting attack at the Mehola Junction in the Jordan Valley on August 11 killed Yonatan Deutsch, a 23-year-old Israeli from Beit Shean. The Mehola Junction is just south of an Israeli checkpoint that forms the border between Beit Shean and the West Bank. It is on Route 90, a major thoroughfare that runs the length of the Jordan Valley. In addition, on August 5, shots were fired at the Israeli community of Beka’ot, which is a 15-minute drive from the Mehola Junction. Explosive devices were found in the aftermath of the attack. During IDF operations on August 28 in the West Bank, an IDF unit found an explosives lab in Al Fara, which is only a four-mile walk from where the attack took place on Beka’ot.
During his August 27 visit, Halevi went to an area where the terrorist who fired on Beka’ot was eliminated, the IDF said.
“We are here first and foremost to strengthen security,” Halevi said to local community council heads. “The IDF is operating on seven fronts with very different characteristics […] There is great importance in the rapid response teams. We are working to reinforce them and investing a lot in this effort. We will be here with as many forces and resources as possible to build better security infrastructure that will provide better protection for the communities. This will also happen thanks to the partnership between us and you.”
Halevi’s reference to seven fronts refers to numerous aspects of the current conflict. For instance, the IDF is fighting in Gaza and confronting Hezbollah threats while also increasing its operations in the West Bank. In addition, the Jordan Valley could be increasingly threatened by Palestinian terror groups operating from areas such as Tubas or by Iranian-backed organizations in Iraq or via Jordan. Halevi discussed the broader Middle East and the importance of regional partnerships when he met with General Brown the day before visiting the Jordan Valley.
