IDF soldiers finish their beret march following eight months of training. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld / IDF Spokesperson Unit

i24 News – Senior Israeli defense officials are considering the launch of a large-scale military operation in the West Bank to halt the upsurge in attacks carried out by various Palestinian terrorist groups, Israel Hayom daily reported on Thursday.

Officials have spent the past few weeks discussing the option of changing the military doctrine in the West Bank, including the option of a large-scale military operation.

According to the report, there is no consensus on the issue at the moment, with several senior Israeli army officials disagreeing on the appropriateness of such a move.

For its part, the Shin Bet internal security service supports an offensive approach and believes that Israel must change the way it conducts its operations in the region. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has not yet expressed his opinion and has instructed the relevant agencies to continue their work on the issue.

Israel Hayom reported that before the Israeli elections last November, Israeli security forces seemed closer than ever to a large-scale operation in the West Bank, and that various units had even received instructions to prepare for it. But the change of government reportedly torpedoed the operation before it even began.

The subject is once again being seriously debated by decision-makers, in light of the continuing terrorist attacks in the region.

The Israeli army, police and border guards regularly conduct counter-terror raids as part of its ongoing ‘Operation Breaking the Wave’.