Heavy gunfire near Kedumim: Forces deployed to the area

Heavy and sustained gunfire was heard Thursday evening from the Palestinian village of Qaddum, near the community of Kedumim in Samaria, causing alarm among residents. Following the reports, Kedumim’s security department and IDF forces were mobilized. Kedumim Regional Council head Ozel Vatik called on the security establishment to operate inside the village and seize weapons. The incident comes two days after Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the IDF was also preparing for the possibility of an armed “turning of the guns" scenario involving elements in Judea and Samaria. “Over the past hour, very heavy gunfire has been heard here from the village of Qaddum. As soon as it began, the security department mobilized the community’s forces and the army," Vatik said. According to Vatik, IDF forces are preparing to operate in the village following the gunfire. “I want to be absolutely clear: We don’t care what the reason for the gunfire is, whether it is an ‘internal dispute’ or something else. We cannot accept a situation in which there are so many weapons in Qaddum, so close to Kedumim. We cannot accept this situation," he said. Vatik called for a large-scale operation against weapons possession in the village. “I call on the security establishment to enter Qaddum in force tonight, seize as many weapons as possible and arrest terrorists," he said. The council head said Kedumim’s security department is deployed throughout the community and that despite the gunfire, civilian life in Kedumim continues as normal.