By Elisha Ben Kimon, Meir Turgeman, Yoav Zitun

Copyright ynetnews

Israeli authorities on Friday released footage of an overnight raid in the West Bank in which security forces arrested three Palestinians accused of manufacturing rockets for attacks in the territory. Helmet-camera video from the Border Police’s Yamam counterterrorism unit showed officers storming a building near Ramallah where the suspects were hiding. Gunfire and projectiles were exchanged before the men were captured. “All three are in our hands,” one officer is heard saying over the radio. Inside the building, troops discovered dozens of rockets — including two primed for launch without warheads — as well as explosives, bomb-making equipment and a lathe used for rocket production. The army said evidence linked the cell to recent attempts to build and launch rockets. The military later released video of soldiers demolishing the cache. In a statement, it said forces from the Benjamin Brigade, Central Command engineering units, the Kedem and Ram battalions, and reservists from the elite Duvdevan unit destroyed the rockets and explosives in controlled blasts. The arrests come after weeks of rising unrest in the West Bank, which Israeli officials had described as relatively calm in recent months. Last week, terrorists test-fired a rocket from the Palestinian village of Ni’ama toward the Israeli community of Beit Ur al-Tahta near Route 443. Though lacking a proper warhead, the rocket traveled along a launch trajectory before landing nearby. Security officials said it marked a more advanced weapon than previously seen in the West Bank. The suspect in that launch was arrested last week and led investigators to another rocket he had built, according to police and the Shin Bet internal security agency. That probe led to the arrest of the Ramallah cell. During Thursday’s raid, Yamam forces encircled the hideout, firing Matador anti-armor missiles and live rounds before entering and capturing the suspects. Judea and Samaria District police commander Moshe Pinchi ordered top investigators and forensic teams to prioritize the case, while Border Police commander Berik Yitzhak praised the raid. “Once again, in the dead of night, deep in enemy territory, Yamam fighters acted with determination and professionalism to prevent a major disaster and thwart terrorism aimed at Israeli civilians,” he said. Security officials described the cell as a troubling escalation in the West Bank, particularly amid other incidents in recent days, including Thursday’s attack at the Allenby Bridge border crossing that killed two soldiers, a roadside bomb attack on troops in Tulkarm and the discovery of another explosive device in Mishor Adumim. While security officials note that overall levels of violence in the West Bank are at their lowest in 25 years, they warn that a surge of attacks could ignite wider unrest, especially in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority. “After so many years in this sector, it’s still hard to know what will trigger a wave of terror,” one security official told Ynet. “But looking at recent events, it is worrying.” Officials fear that a chain of successful attacks could embolden others, creating a “copycat effect” and sparking street protests and riots. Such unrest could force Israel to divert troops from Gaza operations to the West Bank, straining resources and undermining military gains in its current campaign. “Any event in the West Bank can light the match,” the official said. “A photo, an attack, a diplomatic move — it can all set things ablaze.”