The IDF said on Wednesday that soldiers found what they called a “dummy” rocket launcher in an Arab town in the Shomron.

The soldiers found the launcher in the town of Nazlat Zayd, near the Jewish yishuv of Shaked, after a videos circulated online on Palestinian social media of Arabs attempting to launch a rocket at Shaked.

One video shows a note attached to the rocket that says the date of the launch and a statement that “the next rocket will be bigger.” The members of the “rocket cell” were arrested and transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning along with the rocket launcher itself.

Shaked residents received a message on Wednesday afternoon: “Dear residents – in the last few hours a video was published on the Arab networks in which a small ‘missile’ with an inscription in Arabic on it is allegedly shown aimed at Shaked. The site has been identified and the incident is currently being investigated by the IDF.”

“It is important to remember that the terrorists who are less successful in the field against the IDF make efforts to undermine our security in the easiest way – spreading propaganda in the media. As we know, unlike the situation in Gaza, the IDF is in all of Shomron, controlling the areas of the villages around us and preventing the possibility of a situation similar to the one in the Gaza envelope. As mentioned, the specific incident is being investigated and handled by the forces on the ground.”

Earlier this month, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar revealed that Israeli security forces thwarted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist cell that had begun manufacturing rockets in the Jenin refugee camp in an attempt to duplicate terrorist rocket launches in Gaza to the Shomron.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)