The Israeli army withdrew its troops from Jenin, a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday, ending a violent conflict two-day operation At least 13 Palestinians were killed, thousands were driven from their homes and a trail of damage left in their wake. An Israeli soldier was also killed.
The army said it inflicted serious damage on militant groups in the Jenin refugee camp in an operation that included a series of airstrikes and hundreds of ground troops. However, it is unclear if there will be any lasting impact after nearly a year and a half of fierce fighting in the West Bank.
Before his retirement, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu promised to conduct similar operations if necessary. “Right now we are completing the mission and I can say that our major operation in Jenin is not an isolated one,” he said while visiting a military post on the outskirts of Jenin. “We will eradicate terrorism wherever we see it and fight it.”
The Jenin Raid was one of the most intense Israeli military operations in the West Bank an armed Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada, against which the Israeli occupation that had lasted since 1967 ended for two decades.
Israel, cars versus pedestrians in Tel Aviv. Hamas: “The occupation will pay the price for their crimes against Jenin”
by Rossella Tercatin July 04, 2023
Since early 2022, Israel has been conducting near-daily raids in the West Bank in response to a series of deadly Palestinian attacks. He says the raids are intended to target Palestinian militants and said they were necessary because the Palestinian Authority is too weak. Palestinians say such violence is the inevitable result of 56 years of occupation and the lack of a political process with Israel. They also point to the increasing settlement construction in the West Bank and the violence of extremist settlers.
Israel attacked the camp, a longtime bastion of Palestinian militants, early Monday morning in an operation the army said was aimed at destroying and confiscating weapons.