In an interview between Netanyahu and Marco Rubio, the head of diplomacy congratulated Israel for its successes while promising to provide them with all the necessary support for the release of the hostages.
The new head of American diplomacy, Marco Rubio, promised a “unwavering support” to Israel against the backdrop of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the intervention of the Israeli army in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
While this city was targeted by heavy fire, the Secretary of State spoke this Wednesday, January 22 with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “underscoring that maintaining unwavering U.S. support for Israel is a top priority for President Donald Trump”said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce in a statement. Rubio also “congratulated the Prime Minister on Israel’s successes against Hamas and Hezbollah and pledged to work tirelessly to help free all hostages still held in Gaza”she stressed.
Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas began implementing a ceasefire last Sunday in the war that has opposed them for 15 months in the Gaza Strip and which provides for an exchange of hostages and prisoners.
This agreement in several stages was outlined in May by Joe Biden, the Democratic predecessor of Donald Trump, then finally concluded thanks to the joint efforts of the diplomatic teams of both. The new American president, however, revealed on Monday, a few hours after his inauguration, that he was not “not sure” May the truce in Gaza hold.
End sanctions imposed on Israeli settlers in the West Bank
In one of his first decisions, President Trump also ended the sanctions imposed by Joe Biden on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, because of their attacks against the Palestinians.
-In 2020, during his first term, the Republican proposed a “deal of the century” for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which provided for the annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank, but never came to fruition. His return has therefore revived the debate in Israel on this highly sensitive issue. In this context, the day after his inauguration and two days after the entry into force of the truce in Gaza, the Israeli army “launched an anti-terrorist operation” in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank.
“The situation is very difficult. The occupying army bulldozed all the roads leading to the Jenin camp and the hospital.city governor Kamal Abu Rub told AFP. « The Israeli army, for its part, indicated that it had “hit more than ten terrorists” during the operation.
Ten dead and 35 injured
The latest combat results of the operation “Iron Wall”which dates back to Tuesday evening, reported ten deaths and 35 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Jenin, particularly its refugee camp, is regularly the target of Israeli military operations against armed groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other movements more or less linked to them.
In recent months, operations have followed one another, leaving neighborhoods cut off from each other, in particular because the asphalt of certain roads has been torn up by Israeli bulldozers. The army says it uses these devices to protect itself from explosive devices.
Defense Minister Israel Katz justified the operation in the Jenin refugee camp by “a change in security approach” of the army in the West Bank: “We will decisively strike the octopus tentacles until they are severed”. Benjamin Netanyahu placed the operation as part of a broader strategy targeting Iran, “wherever it sends its weapons – to Gaza, Lebanonin Syriaau Yemen» and in the West Bank.
