IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Thursday morning that he had ordered a major bolstering of troops in the West Bank in light of recent tensions in the territory, as well as demanding that the treasury supply the military with additional funds.

“Many challenges lie ahead of us. We are advancing battle procedures on all fronts, from Iran and Lebanon to Gaza, and are on high alert in the face of multi-front volatility,” he said during an assessment with the Israel Defense Forces’ top brass.

Zamir said that because of the tensions in the West Bank and the upcoming Jewish holiday period, he was ordering the headquarters of a standing army division to be put on standby to reinforce troops in the area if required. A standing army division normally has tens of thousands of troops.

Normally, the West Bank has two divisions — the Judea and Samaria Division responsible for most of the territory and the 96th “Gilad” Division, tasked with the Jordan border.

“Beyond that, preparations must be made for the immediate deployment of units and battalions to reinforce the area,” he said.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply in recent months, mostly involving settler attacks on Palestinians, though there have also been several attacks by Palestinian assailants on Israelis. Critics accuse the IDF and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of condoning or even encouraging the violence by Israelis against Palestinians.

The most senior IDF officer in the West Bank reportedly warned during a closed-door security assessment on Monday that mounting settler violence could ignite a broader escalation in the territory.

On Tuesday, far-right MK Zvi Sukkot smashed a monument to Palestinian “martyrs” in a West Bank village while accompanied by IDF troops.

In Thursday’s assessment, Zamir said that the entire IDF, “across all its branches, will remain on full, multi-front readiness during the holiday period” and that there will be no reduction........

© The Times of Israel