The Israeli military said it had mobilized some 13,000 soldiers for an unannounced drill on Sunday in the occupied West Bank, in the first such exercise in three years.
A terse statement said army chief Gadi Eisenkot had called a “surprise exercise in Central Command” - the military front that controls land captured in a 1967 war which is sought by Palestinians, Reuters reported.
Footage of the exercise filmed by an Israeli television station showed soldiers in armored vehicles practicing how to handle casualties at the scene of a confrontation.
The drill came on the day that Palestinians said they would consider dissolving security cooperation with Israel over Israel’s recent suspension of tax revenue transfers.
Israel’s last such exercise in the West Bank was in 2012, and drills “are held from time to time,” a spokeswoman said.
Israel Radio quoted an unidentified senior military source as saying the drill had been unexpected, would be “unusual in size” and would also involve aerial and intelligence units.
