Israeli military commandos warned on Sunday morning that the IDF's armored vehicles are not equipped to deal with terror attacks carried out using improvised explosive devices (IED), which are thought to be funded and supplied to the West Bank by Iran.
Following recent use of IEDs in attacks, most notably in a blast near Joseph's Tomb where an IDF officer and three soldiers were wounded last week, the commandos warned that "it is clear to all of us where this is going.
"It will only get worse."
IDF commandos lament lack of armored vehicles
The commandos lamented the lack of armored vehicles available for operations in the West Bank. "Everybody has seen the explosive terror labs uncovered in the Jenin operation.
"On one hand, we're talking about an increased amount of explosives, a situation which urges caution. On the other, there is an issue with the availability of armored jeeps, this is felt on our way to our targets and by the targets."
IDF denies reports
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit rejected the claims on Sunday, stressing that "there is no shortage of armored vehicles.
"The vehicles are under continued maintenance in order to ensure their operational capacity remains at a high level."
The IDF also hit back at accusations that Israeli forces secured Joseph's Tomb by foot last week due to this perceived lack of vehicles, writing that the claim is "incorrect."
The Israeli forces were wounded when an explosive device struck their armored vehicle.