The IDF is sharply increasing its readiness in Judea and Samaria ahead of the Jewish holiday period, placing the headquarters of an additional active-duty division on standby and preparing more units for rapid deployment if the security situation deteriorates.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued the orders during a multi-front assessment with senior commanders, citing growing tensions in the region and a broader threat picture stretching from Iran and Lebanon to Gaza. The IDF said additional units and battalions must be prepared for immediate reinforcement, while the military as a whole will maintain full operational strength throughout the holidays with no reduction in forces.

The move goes beyond a routine holiday security adjustment. The IDF already maintains the Judea and Samaria Division across most of the area, alongside the 96th “Gilad” Division responsible for the Jordan frontier. Putting another regular division headquarters on heightened readiness gives Central Command the ability to rapidly expand its command structure if multiple areas flare simultaneously.

“We are on high alert in the face of multi-front volatility,” Zamir said, stressing that the military is advancing operational preparations across every major arena. His order means the holiday period will see no normal operational stand-down or thinning of combat forces.

The elevated posture follows a string of terrorist attacks and counterterror operations in Judea and Samaria. Israeli forces recently captured the terrorist accused of stabbing an Israeli near al-Auja in the Jordan Valley, while an earlier shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria killed two Israelis and wounded six others. Israeli security forces also arrested more than 200 wanted Palestinians in a major wave of operations and seized tens of thousands of shekels earmarked for terrorism.

There is also growing concern inside Israel’s security establishment over more extreme escalation scenarios. Israel Hayom reported that Zamir recently told ministers the IDF has prepared for the possibility of armed Palestinian Authority forces “turning their guns” on Israel, saying the Judea and Samaria Division has drilled for such a scenario. The IDF has not publicly confirmed the details of that closed-door discussion.

For now, the order is preventative rather than a declaration that a major escalation is imminent. But the message from the military leadership is clear: Israel does not intend to enter the holiday period with reduced forces while Judea and Samaria remains volatile and the IDF is simultaneously watching threats across Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.