The Israeli Army launched this morning a ground and air offensive in Jenin -the great stronghold of the Palestinian armed groups- almost two weeks after the death of four Israelis in a Palestinian armed attack and several days after the unprecedented launch (failed) of two projectiles from that area of the northern West Bank against Israel. Islamic Jihad and Hamas assure that their troops respond by participating in armed confrontations with the soldiers and promise to take revenge for an operation in which they fear more casualties than in previous incursions. According to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), the balance so far is seven Palestinians dead and 28 wounded, including six in serious condition.
The offensive, which Israeli military sources justify as “limited action against terrorists and their infrastructure in Jenin,” began with a surprise air strike against a building that Israel claims was used as “a command center and weapons depot for the Jenin Brigades.” ” and followed up with ground raids on both the city and the Jenin refugee camp. In a few minutes, the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP) reported thate the death of a Palestinian by Israeli fire in a confrontation in the Ramallah area.
The situation in west bank It has registered a dramatic deterioration in the last year with more and more attacks and raids that frequently lead to armed confrontations in a spiral of violence located above all in the north of the territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
For several weeks now, the Israeli political and military leadership has been studying a broad offensive in Nablus y Yen which have become the stronghold of the militias as in the Second Intifada (2000-2006).
“The objective is to end Jenin’s role as a refuge for terrorists,” says a minister about an operation that was approved almost two weeks ago by the head of government, Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of Defense, Yoav Gallant, the head of the army Herzi Halevi and the head of the internal security service (Shabak) Ronen Bar. The attack on a restaurant near the Eli neighborhood (four dead shot by two Palestinians linked to the armed wing of Hamas who ended up being killed), the increase in armed attacks in the West Bank, the lack of control of the troops of The security of the PNA in that area, the feeling of loss of deterrence capacity and the growing pressure on the right and in the Jewish settlements have been decisive for the green light from the Israeli authorities.
“Stay in your homes,” the army urged Palestinian residents during the incursion into the densely populated Jenin area as large numbers of troops, escorted by drones, surrounded the refugee camp where commando forces are patrolling this morning. In a joint statement, the army and Shabak They explained the first late-night airstrike on a building on Sunday by noting that “as part of an extensive counter-terrorism effort in Judea and Samaria, security forces attacked a joint operations center, which served as the joint operational command center for the Jenin camp and the operatives of the Jenin Brigade”. “We do not want to occupy the refugee camp or attack the PNA without only hitting the terrorists who from Jenin attack our civilians and soldiers, make arrests and dismantle explosives”, added military sources.
While the PNA chaired by Abu Mazen condemns what it defined as “a new war crime in Jenin that will not give (Israel) security or stability”, it warns that “the Palestinian people will not surrender until the occupation is broken” and calls for international intervention to stop the operation, the Palestinian armed groups mobilized their troops on all fronts with emphasis on the northern West Bank while their leaders promised that their enemy “will pay a high price”. “The aggression in Jenin will not achieve its goals and will stand as a symbol of steadfastness and will not give up. Our fighters are determined to confront and fight, regardless of the casualties,” Islamic Jihad has reacted. According to this Iranian-funded group, “the Zionist enemy bears full responsibility for all the consequences of this aggression.
Hamas spokesman Hazzem Qassem, it adds that “generalized aggression in Jenin will not achieve its objectives and the Zionist enemy will fail.”
Although it has been declared a limited operation in time (two or three days) and space (Jenin), no one rules out that it could lead to a large-scale confrontation on several fronts and days. Much of this depends on whether Islamic Jihad and Hamas decide to intervene from Gaza as well, launching rockets into southern Israel. According to a joint statement by all the armed factions in the strip under Hamas control, the nature of their response will depend on the “continuation of the aggression against Jenin and the behavior of the occupation.”