Dummy Rocket Aimed at Gush Etzion: Israel Thwarts Chilling Attack
Israeli forces neutralized a non-explosive dummy rocket near Beit Fajjar aimed at Gush Etzion’s Migdal Oz Industrial Zone, highlighting ongoing security threats.
On the evening of August 25, 2025, Israeli police and IDF forces successfully neutralized a dummy rocket near the Palestinian town of Beit Fajjar, aimed at the Migdal Oz Industrial Zone in Gush Etzion, Judea and Samaria. Acting on intelligence received at the Etzion police station in the Judea and Samaria region, security forces launched extensive searches, located the device, and deployed a police sapper to conduct a controlled detonation. The object, identified as a plastic pipe with a propeller attached, contained no explosives and posed no real threat, according to a security official. No injuries or damage were reported, and further searches for evidence continued into the following morning under the sapper’s guidance.
The operation highlighted the vigilance of Israeli forces, with police stating, “Thanks to the alertness and professionalism of the forces, a serious incident that could have endangered public safety was prevented.” The Yesha Council, representing Israeli settlers, condemned the incident, with a spokesperson declaring, “The dummy missile this morning is the arson kite from the Gaza border area of 2021. We must not be drawn again into a misconception. This is a reminder of the reality of a terrorist state adjacent to Israel. This morning it is a dummy missile aimed at Migdal Oz, and tomorrow real missiles at Tel Aviv. This is the result when Arab terror receives a tailwind from Europe without any real response from the Israeli government.” They reiterated their demand to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating, “We reiterate our demand to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to come to his senses, provide a preemptive solution, and immediately apply Israeli sovereignty over Yehudah and Shomron, severing the dream of a terrorist state.”
The incident follows a history of tensions in the region, with Beit Fajjar previously linked to attacks, including a 2019 stabbing and a 2022 Molotov cocktail incident near Migdal Oz. The area remains a flashpoint, with over 4,000 settler-related violence incidents reported in the West Bank since October 2023, per UN data.