Yesterday (Wednesday), it was announced that the IDF intends to set up a new regional division along much of the Jordanian border, which will be subordinated to Central Command. This will increase the number of regional divisions under Central Command to two and bring the total IDF regional divisions to six: Division 91 (Galilee, along the Lebanese border), Division 210 (Golan, along the Syrian border), Division 877 (Judea and Samaria, until now also responsible for the Jordan border in the Jordan Valley), Division 80 (peace borders with Jordan in the Arava and with Egypt in the Negev), and Division 143 (Gaza Division). This is in addition to three regular divisions (98, 162, and 36), three reserve divisions (252, 146, 99), and an additional reserve division in the process of being established (96). This increase in IDF force structure is one of the lessons learned from the ongoing war, and implementation has begun even before its conclusion.
Until now, the Jordan Valley border was under Brigade 417 (Jordan Valley Brigade), which was under the Judea and Samaria Division. This division includes six other regional brigades (Etzion, Yehuda, Binyamin, Ephraim, Menashe, and Shomron), which required significant attention and continuous activity, making it difficult to give adequate attention to the Jordan Valley Brigade. The Valley is distinct from the rest of Judea and Samaria in its demographic character (with relatively few Palestinians), geography (non-mountainous), and the nature of challenges faced by the forces, which focus on preventing infiltrations, smuggling, and chases rather than dealing with the Palestinian Authority and arrests. Recently, challenges along the Jordan Valley border have been increasing, including significant weapon smuggling operations supplying terrorist networks in Samaria cities, as well as infiltrator attacks (such as those at the Allenby Crossing and in Neot HaKikar in recent months).
The establishment of this new division reflects not only tactical but also strategic thinking. In recent years, especially during the ongoing conflict, Iran has increased its efforts to influence Jordanian politics and stir anti-Israel sentiments, aiming to provoke lone-wolf attacks against Israel and to strategically weaken or even destabilize the Hashemite monarchy, potentially creating a renewed terror border in Jordan, a problem Israel faced from 1967 to 1970. The new division will enable greater efforts to counter terrorism and facilitate more substantial cooperation with the Jordanian military.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi commented on the establishment of the new division along the Jordan Valley border: “Strengthening border defense, particularly on the eastern border, was marked as a priority before the war, and in light of the events of 10/7 and recent incidents, it has gained even greater urgency. Additionally, there is an urgent need to establish additional regular and reserve units to reduce the burden on reserve personnel. Accordingly, we decided to establish a division to reinforce eastern border defense. This decision is essential given the anticipated challenges and aligns with IDF force-building processes.”
