# Israel shifts elite 98th Division to West Bank as car-ramming and unrest grow

*Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 6:13 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-09-24T06:13:13.990Z (3h ago)
**Category**: conflict | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 7/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/18689.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Israel is redeploying its 98th Division to the West Bank to take command of forces around Hebron and Bethlehem after a surge in attacks, including a serious car-ramming that badly wounded a reserve soldier. The move tightens Israel’s military grip on the territory and raises the risk of a harsher confrontation with Palestinian groups.

Israel is sending some of its most capable ground forces back into the West Bank, betting that heavier armor and more experienced commanders will contain a new round of unrest — and risking that their presence will fuel it. The Israel Defense Forces announced that the 98th Division will be deployed to the West Bank to assume command of the Judea and Etzion Brigades, which oversee operations in and around Hebron and Bethlehem.

The deployment follows what the military described as a recent uptick in attacks by Palestinian groups in the West Bank. One of the most serious incidents came at the Maccabim checkpoint, where the IDF said an Israeli reserve soldier from the Benyamin Regional Brigade was seriously injured in a Palestinian car-ramming attack. The attacker was shot and killed on the scene, and the army responded by closing checkpoints and setting up roadblocks across the area.

For Palestinians in the southern West Bank, the arrival of the 98th Division likely means more frequent raids, tighter movement restrictions and an even more visible military presence around towns and refugee camps. Checkpoints that are already choke points for daily life can become semi-permanent as commanders seek to prevent more car attacks or shootings. Roadblocks complicate access to workplaces, schools and hospitals, and can turn short commutes into multi-hour ordeals.

For Israeli settlers and civilians in the same area, the division’s deployment is meant as reassurance. The Hebron and Bethlehem corridors have long been flashpoints of stabbings, drive-by shootings and clashes. Bringing in a high-readiness division signals that the government is prepared to devote major combat assets to securing junctions, settlements and roads, even as the IDF also manages commitments on the Gaza and northern fronts.

The 98th Division, considered an elite formation, is trained in rapid maneuver and complex urban operations. Placing it over the Judea and Etzion Brigades centralizes command and gives the IDF more flexibility to mass force quickly if the security situation deteriorates. But using a formation built for high-intensity combat in a densely populated civilian environment sharpens a long-standing dilemma: the more heavily armed and assertive the presence, the higher the risk of lethal confrontations that draw in more actors.

Strategically, the move reflects Israeli fears that the West Bank could slide into a broader uprising, especially when tensions are also high around Gaza and along the Lebanese border. Palestinian factions see car-rammings and small-arms attacks as low-cost ways to keep up pressure on Israeli forces and signal resistance without committing to an open, organized campaign. Israel, in turn, often responds with sweeping arrests, targeted raids and infrastructure closures. Each cycle leaves communities more traumatized and less inclined to trust that calm will last.

The targeted assassination the IDF claims to have carried out against Abu Alwan, described as Hamas’s head of finance in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, threads back into this picture. By striking at Hamas’s financial networks in Gaza, while reinforcing units in the West Bank, Israel is trying to disrupt coordination and funding lines that can connect militant activity across fronts. According to the IDF, Alwan oversaw budgeting for all branches of Hamas and had moved over 1 billion shekels (roughly $329 million) in support of the group. Killing such a figure is intended to have ripple effects well beyond Gaza’s borders.

A key insight in this moment is that for people on both sides of the checkpoint, strategic decisions in Tel Aviv translate quickly into the geometry of daily movement — who gets through, who gets searched, who doesn’t make it home on time.

The next inflection points will be visible on the ground. If attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in the Hebron–Bethlehem area drop after the 98th Division takes charge, commanders will argue the heavier presence worked. If violence spreads or becomes more lethal, pressure will grow on both Palestinian and Israeli leaders to recalibrate. Watch for how long the checkpoint closures and roadblocks around the Maccabim area remain in place, whether the IDF expands the 98th Division’s remit deeper into other parts of the West Bank, and whether Palestinian factions call for broader protests or further isolated attacks.