For more than a week, hundreds of Israeli forces have carried out the deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the war in Gaza began.
The Jenin raid has been devastating for Palestinian civilians, too.
Here’s what we know about the raid on Jenin: A troubled city in the West Bank Jenin has long been a flashpoint in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But over time the refugee camp morphed into a crowded, urban neighborhood that — like the rest of the West Bank — has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.
In 2002, during the height of the second intifada, or uprising, Israeli forces flattened large sections of the impoverished city.
In recent years, the Palestinian Authority, which administers urban pockets of the West Bank, has had a diminishing influence in Jenin.
A longer Israeli raid, not a new strategy In Jenin, armored vehicles have blocked entrances and exits, and bulldozers have plowed roads.
The military official said the operation across the West Bank involves fewer soldiers than a major raid on the Jenin camp before the war that killed 12.
Some analysts are skeptical the latest raid in Jenin would have any dramatic long-term impact, in terms of making Israel less vulnerable to West Bank militancy.
They said some Israeli soldiers are moving from house to house, while others are digging up roads with armored bulldozers.
The deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war has been conducted by hundreds of Israeli soldiers for over a week. They have concentrated on the Jenin refugee camp, which has served as a stronghold for Palestinian militancy since the war was started by Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Of the 33 Palestinians reported dead, the majority of whom the military claims were militants, 18 are believed to have died as a result of the fighting in Jenin. According to Israel, the death toll is expected to rise because its soldiers are digging in for combat with Hamas and other organizations.
In order to stop recent attacks against Israeli civilians, which they claim have grown more deadly and sophisticated, Israeli military officials say that an operation targeting militants in Jenin, Tulkarem, and the Al-Faraa refugee camp is required. In the operation, one Israeli soldier lost his life.
For Palestinian civilians as well, the Jenin raid has been devastating. While Israeli soldiers hunt for militants, families have been forced to stay inside their homes, water and electricity services have been turned off, and ambulances transporting injured people to surrounding hospitals have experienced delays.
What is known about the Jenin raid is as follows:.
a problematic West Bank city.
In the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jenin has served as a flashpoint.
When Israel was first created in 1948, it served as a shelter for Palestinians who had been displaced or forced from their homes due to fighting. However, the camp for refugees eventually transformed into a densely populated urban area that, along with the rest of the West Bank, has been occupied by Israeli forces since 1967.
When the second intifada, or uprising, peaked in 2002, Israeli forces completely destroyed a significant portion of the impoverished city. According to the UN, 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers were killed in the ensuing gunfight.
The Palestinian Authority, which is in charge of certain urban areas of the West Bank, has become less significant in Jenin in recent years. Due to its coordination with Israel on security issues, a large number of Jenin residents view it as an occupation subcontractor. The forces of the authority have occasionally engaged in combat and firefights with militants from Palestine.
In addition to fighting together in Gaza, the militant organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are free to operate throughout Jenin. Posters honoring fallen fighters as martyrs for the Palestinian cause line Jenin’s streets on a regular basis, and young men with walkie-talkies patrol the alleys.
Since war broke out on Oct. 7. Israeli forces have increased their incursions into Jenin, frequently carrying out drone attacks on local targets. However, most had lasted only a few days, or at most, several hours, until the latest raid.
Since October as well. 7. There has been a rise in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and an expansion of settlement building within the occupied territory.
Local health officials in the West Bank report that since October, over 680 Palestinians have died, the majority of them at the hands of Israeli troops and a small number of settlers. Questioning the number of Israelis killed in the West Bank during the same period, the Israeli army did not immediately respond.
Not a new plan, but a longer Israeli raid.
Roads in Jenin have been plowed by bulldozers, and armored cars have blocked entrances and exits. Troops barricaded themselves inside deserted buildings, searched residences, and exchanged gunfire with militants. In order to determine whether hospitals were providing shelter to militants, Israeli forces surrounded hospitals and stopped ambulances transporting waves of injured patients.
Israeli intentions in Jenin are less ambitious than those in Gaza, where the Israelis openly promised to carry out a months-long campaign to permanently destroy Hamas’ military capabilities in the enclave.
Israel is not trying to completely eradicate the militant activity that is concentrated in a few of the refugee camps in the West Bank, according to a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to military restrictions. Instead, the goal of the raids is to stop impending attacks against Israeli civilians, like the attempted bombing of Tel Aviv in August that Hamas claimed responsibility for and the June shooting death of an Israeli civilian in the Palestinian town of Qalqilya.
Twelve soldiers were killed in a major raid on the Jenin camp prior to the war, but fewer soldiers are involved in the operation across the West Bank, according to the military official. He was unable to predict the end of the raid, though.
Regarding Israel’s ability to be less vulnerable to West Bank militancy in the long run, some analysts doubt that the most recent raid in Jenin would have any significant effect.
According to Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli army intelligence officer who currently works as a Palestinian affairs analyst at Tel Aviv University, “the current escalation relies on intense efforts of Hamas and Iran and deep weakness of the PA — which are going to change.”. It’s only a matter of time before another procedure. “.
Hospitals are encircled and ambulances are inspected.
Residents of Jenin have related accounts of devastation. They claimed that while some Israeli soldiers are relocating from one home to another, others are using armored bulldozers to clear roads.
When questioned, the army responded that its forces were removing explosives buried beneath streets and clearing out militant command centers located all over the city.
“They turned off the internet, the electricity, and the water.”. Mohannad Hajj Hussein, a resident of Jenin, declared, “We are prepared to live by candlelight.”.
Oroba al-Shalabi said that last Saturday, she left her family’s house in the center of Jenin after being momentarily detained by Israeli forces and being split up from her male relatives.
She said, “At the beginning, the Israeli soldiers locked us in a room, and when we came out, the men were tied to the floor.”. Soon after, her male family members were not permitted to accompany her on her departure.
The Israeli military official stated that the army is letting citizens leave certain parts of Jenin if they so choose and that there is no curfew in place.
According to Nebal Farsakh, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent, many parts of the city are still nearly impossible to reach. Before ambulances can be sent out, they must first coordinate with Israeli authorities. She said the charity has fielded hundreds of calls from Jenin locals in the last week requesting food, medicine, and infant formula.
“The Jenin refugee camp is currently a trap for people. We continue to receive hundreds of calls,” she said.
