Israel announced Tuesday that it had launched a major military operation in Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups in the occupied West Bank, killing eight Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Authority.
The day after the inauguration of the new American president Donald Trump, from whom the Israeli government hopes for strong support, the Israeli army announced that it had “launched an anti-terrorist operation in Jenin”a town in the northern West Bank, territory occupied by Israel since 1967. The operation “extensive and far-reaching” aims to “eradicate terrorism in Jenin”declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to a new report from the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, eight people were killed “due to the Israeli aggression on Jenin.” “Environ 35” others were injured, adds the ministry.
A journalist on site noted that Palestinian Authority security forces had withdrawn from positions they held around the camp as part of an operation launched in December to try to bring local groups engaged in the armed struggle against Israel. According to him, the sounds of detonations and bursts testify to violent fighting in the camp. “The occupying forces are preventing our teams from reaching the wounded inside the camp”declared the Palestinian Red Crescent early in the afternoon.
“Premeditated intentions”
Jenin, and in particular its refugee camp, is regularly the target of Israeli military operations against members or leaders of armed groups.
In recent months, operations have followed one another, leaving entire neighborhoods cut off from each other, in particular because the asphalt of certain roads has been torn up by Israeli bulldozers – the Israeli army explaining that it has used these means to protect itself from explosive devices.
On January 14, six Palestinians were killed in Jenin by an Israeli air force strike. General Anouar Rajab, spokesperson for Palestinian preventive security, then denounced an operation thwarting “all efforts made [par ses services] to maintain security and order and restore normal life”. “It reflects the premeditated intentions of the occupation to disrupt all national efforts aimed at protecting our people”he added. The same day, representatives of the main armed movements in the camp announced that they wanted to return to calm, in the name of “unity”.
-Violence in the West Bank has exploded since the start of the war triggered on October 7, 2023 by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on southern Israel, and which is now the subject of a fragile truce.
Since then, at least 845 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by the Israeli army or by settlers, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
At the same time, at least 29 Israelis, including soldiers, died there in Palestinian attacks or in military operations, according to Israeli authorities.
West Bank Israel Palestine Gaza Hamas Israeli-Palestinian conflict ceasefire in Gaza
