In the last few days, the Israel Defense Forces Central Command ordered 2,500 new ceramic bulletproof vests for IDF soldiers, mainly for the Judea and Samaria sectors. This major purchase comes amid a situation assessment that took place last week against the background of the continued terrorist attacks.

The large purchase, which mainly includes bulletproof vests, has been transferred to the Procurement Administration at the Ministry of Defense, which is expected to purchase the equipment for the IDF immediately from manufacturers in Israel. 

#Israel prepares for major battle vs. Palestinian terrorists: Army buys thousands of protective vests for West Bank troops plus dozens of new fortified vehicles, @YediotAhronot reports. That's early indication that IDF expects military escalation.

— Israel Radar (@IsraelRadar_com) November 4, 2022

The vests are expected to initially be distributed to forces operating deep around and within crime-ridden Palestinian territories such as Jenin and Nablus. The units being prioritized are the commando brigade units, as well as the forces along the borderline. The purchase’s value is about eight million shekels and comes in addition to another large order of about 50 new armored operational vehicles, including bulletproof and stone-proof ones. 

⭕️ the IDF and Defense Ministry have placed an immediate order for 2,500 ceramic shields, 50 armored vehicles and thousands of protective gear for soldier in Judea and Samaria. The IDF believes that the number of shooting attacks will rise in the coming months.

— Chaim • חיים (@ChaimSmierc) November 4, 2022

The new equipment is estimated to be one of the most significant purchases meant for Judea and Samaria soldiers to date. It is close in its scale to the IDF's record preparations for widespread riots in the region at the beginning of the previous decade, around the time Abu Mazen delivered his speech at the United Nations. However,  this time the reason lies in a significant increase in the number of incidents and shooting attacks by terrorists against IDF forces and Israelis living within Judea and Samaria. 

A moment of the arrest of the released Terrorist swine prisoner Ahmed Elkatani after our IDF forces raided his house early in the morning in the new Pallywood Askar camp, east of Pallywood Nablus. pic.twitter.com/KTgMRPCy3u

— Dovid Trepp (@DovidTrepp) November 5, 2022

The IDF’s central command has been alerting the Israeli government and public of the rapid increase in illegal firearms within areas that are the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority to control under the Oslo agreements; the spike in weapons and lack of oversight from the Palestinian security apparatus has been a major factor in the drastic increase of terrorist activities in recent months.

It is estimated that Palestinian militants have accumulated thousands of weapons in the West Bank, among other things through smuggling from Syria and Jordan. Another source for firearms is the increased production of homemade weapons, known as ghost guns. 

For my Bar Mitzvah instead of asking for money I asked for people to donate to a group that raises money to provide bullet proof vests for IDF soldiers. I think we raised enough for 9 vests.

— DovTheHusky (@dov_the) September 30, 2022

According to the IDF’s assessment of the situation, attacks with firearms may also continue on IDF positions established to close the holes within the border. Based on this estimation, dozens of positions were equipped with dense concrete blocks and over 30,000 sandbags were also purchased immediately. The defensive infrastructure is currently being deployed in northern Samaria, near the cities of Jenin and Nablus where terror activity along with terrorist recruitment has thrived in the past six months. 

One of the already upgraded military posts has saved the lives of soldiers just about two weeks ago near Nablus, when shrapnel from an explosive device set off by terrorists near the position was absorbed by the sandbags and shielding panels.