Terror the Media Won’t Cover: Judea and Samaria’s Reality

By Amit Segal

It’s Thursday, May 15, and as of writing, a 12-hour-old baby is fighting for his life after his mother, Tzeela Gez (Z”L), was shot and killed by a Palestinian terrorist while she was on her way to the hospital to give birth. Tzeela’s husband Hananel—with whom she already had three children—was lightly injured in the attack.

A resident of Bruchin in Samaria, Tzeela was a mental health counselor who specialised in trauma therapy. If you scroll through her social media, you won’t just find posts of her sharing advice on how to cope with personal challenges—you’ll see a warm, caring, happy human being who wanted to share her light with others.

Indeed, in December 2023, Tzeela wrote on Facebook about the pain Israelis were experiencing. Towards the end of her post, she wrote: “All I want to do is to be active and spread light. Even a small smile spreads a lot of light.”

In light of Tzeela’s murder, it’s worth discussing an issue that doesn’t get the coverage it deserves in English-language media: Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria. Tzeela was killed near Bruchin in Samaria—a mere half-hour drive from Tel Aviv.

Also referred to as the northern West Bank, Samaria (or Shomron in Hebrew) is the northern region of Judea and Samaria.

Ok, and how bad is terrorism in the area? According to a February report by Rescuers Without Borders, 2024 saw over 6,300 acts of Palestinian terror against Jews in Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank).

• The attacks included:
  3,668 instances of rock-throwing (To some, rock-throwing may not sound like “terrorism,” but when the rock is the size of four adults’ fists combined, and is thrown from above at a car traveling at 50 miles an hour—the results can be deadly.)
• 843 Molotov cocktail attacks
• 671 attempts to use laser pointers to blind drivers
• 526 explosive devices
• 364 instances of arson
• 179 shootings

So severe is the terror in Judea and Samaria, that in August 2024 the IDF launched “Operation Summer Camps,” and then “Operation Iron Wall” in January—both of which have targeted Palestinian terror hubs in Judea and Samaria. The operations, in fact, are the IDF’s most intense counter-terror efforts in the area since the wave of Palestinian terror attacks during the second intifada (2000-2005).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this hasn’t received too much attention in the West, largely due to the war in Gaza. Of course, it has occasionally appeared in the news, such as last week’s New York Times article, which, in classic Times fashion, likely left many readers with the impression that Israel’s military is expelling Palestinians for fun.

Well, have the operations worked? While far from perfect, the results are promising. In 2024, according to Rescuers Without Borders, Palestinians murdered 27 Israelis in Judea and Samaria. This year, there have been four deaths so far—Tzeela included. And while the statistical decrease is understandably unlikely to be of much comfort to her family and friends—it is a meaningful drop nonetheless.

Here’s to hoping that next year, that number goes down to zero.