Today, Wednesday, the Israeli army reduced its forces guarding the settlements in the West Bank, which it calls “regional protection,” and the number of soldiers gradually decreased from 8,000 at the beginning of the war on Gaza to about a thousand.

According to the website of the newspaper "Haaretz", the reduction in the number of these forces came as a result of an assessment of the situation conducted by the Israeli army after the end of the month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover, and as a result of understandings between the army and the heads of the settlements, and that these understandings "guarantee the continuation of the defense of the settlements."

The Israeli army considers that the security of the settlements has “improved greatly since the outbreak of the war,” after the establishment of more military sites and as a result of intensive and continuous patrols by Israeli forces.

According to the plan drawn up by the army and the settlers, the army will keep a number of soldiers in reserve in each settlement, increase the number of armed settlers and strengthen the armed militias in the settlements, which it calls “ready teams,” according to the newspaper.

The Israeli army said that it will continue to consider strengthening the "regional protection" forces at all times and according to the assessment of the situation.

At the beginning of the war on Gaza, the Israeli army called up 8,000 soldiers in the reserve forces for the “District Protection” Brigades. The newspaper indicated that about 5,500 of these reserve soldiers are settlers.

The newspaper pointed out that settler soldiers are involved in settler terrorist attacks on Palestinians and their property.

The newspaper added that in at least one case, a settler who confessed in the past, as part of a deal with the prosecution, to assaulting a Palestinian citizen and an Israeli left-wing activist, was recruited and armed. In another case, a military weapon was provided to a settler who, through a deal with the prosecution, admitted to attacking and robbing Palestinians.