Operation " Defensive Shield " ( , '' Mivtza Homat Magen '' , literally " Operation Shield Wall " ) was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 during the course of the Second Intifada . It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War . The stated goal of the operation was to stop terrorist attacks . The spark that gave rise to the action was the March 27 suicide bombing during Passover Seder at the Park Hotel in the Israeli resort city of Netanya ; a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 30 mostly elderly vacationers
March 27 suicide bombing
Passover massacre
Operation Defensive Shield