'Israeli' police claim discovery of unfinished tunnel in West Bank
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‘Israeli’ police and Border Police forces stated on Wednesday that they uncovered an under-construction underground tunnel during a targeted raid in the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya, seizing a small arsenal of firearms and arresting four suspects, according to The Jerusalem Post.
According to an official statement issued by the ‘Israeli’ Police’s Samaria District crime-fighting unit, the raid was launched following specific intelligence operations within the Palestinian city, which lies adjacent to the Green Line and sits just kilometers from the 'Israeli' city of Kfar Saba.
‘Israeli’ authorities claimed that officers uncovered an excavation reaching a depth of at least 25 meters (82 feet), alongside preliminary digging for a second nearby tunnel.
Search operations inside the site allegedly yielded:
- An M16 assault rifle and a sniper rifle.
- Ammunition rounds and rifle magazines.
- Mobile phones and a digital video recorder (DVR).
- Bags of agricultural fertilizer, which police claimed were intended for manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Four Palestinian suspects present at the scene were taken into custody and transferred for interrogation. ‘Israeli’ authorities have provided no independent or verified details regarding the total horizontal length or intended target of the underground structure.
The announcement triggered immediate political reactions along the seam zone. Mayor of Kfar Saba, Rafi Saar, publicly called the discovery a "grave security threat" to nearby ‘Israeli’ residents, advocating for reinforced security protocols along the boundary line.
Oshrat Gani Gonen, head of the Drom Hasharon Regional Council, similarly urged military officials to increase funding and forces along the seam line, warning against overlooking underground threats.
Conversely, local observers and Palestinian sources express concern that such official claims, released alongside selective video footage, are routinely leveraged to justify heightened military incursions, arbitrary arrests, and stricter mobility restrictions across Qalqilya and the wider West Bank region.
‘Israeli’ security officials stated that "preemptive operations" against similar infrastructure in the Samaria sector will continue.
