Israel’s army continued the military offensive in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday night. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least ten people were killed in airstrikes and fighting on the ground. About 100 other Palestinians were injured, 20 of them critically. At least one of the dead was reported to be a Palestinian militant.
The army moved into the Palestinian city of Jenin on Monday night, beginning its first major offensive in about 20 years. According to their own statements, they confiscated weapons and explosives and arrested several suspects.
Palestinian media reported on Monday evening that the Israeli army had ordered Palestinians to leave the Jenin refugee camp. Footage online showed many people leaving their homes, some with their hands up. According to Israeli media reports, however, Israeli security officials denied that there had been an evacuation order. Accordingly, thousands of people fled the fighting.
Palestinian officials told AFP this morning that around three thousand people had already left the camp. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the situation for residents of Jenin is critical as electricity and water supplies have been damaged.
The densely populated city and the associated refugee camp with around 17,000 residents are considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. The camp west of the city center is mostly populated by Palestinians who fled the villages and towns that are now in Israel during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Her children and grandchildren were born in the refugee camp. A possible right for these refugees to return to their homes and land is one of the major unresolved issues of the Middle East conflict.
People walk down a street in Jenin refugee camp on July 4.
(Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP)
The militant groups in the city are said to be financed primarily by Iran, an archenemy of the State of Israel. “In recent months, Jenin has become a haven for terrorism, from which insidious attacks have been launched on Israeli men, women and children,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an appearance on Monday evening. The aim is to eliminate all those “who want to destroy our country”. The military offensive will last as long as necessary “to complete the mission,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the Israeli media.
Abbas cuts off communication – at least temporarily
After a meeting of its leadership on Monday evening, the Palestinian Authority reiterated that it would no longer cooperate with Israel on security issues. The autonomy authority had made similar announcements on previous occasions – but they were not actually implemented, writes the dpa news agency. Both sides exchange intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks and coordinate major operations in zones controlled solely by the Palestinian Authority. It is also intended to prevent militant groups from gaining the upper hand in this area.
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has been tense for a long time, but violence has recently increased again. Since Benjamin Netanyahu’s new, partly right-wing extremist government has been in office, it has intensified its rhetoric towards the Palestinian side and shows little interest in defusing the conflict – on the contrary. She also wants to massively expand settlement construction in the West Bank.
While Palestinians repeatedly carried out attacks on settlements or Israeli soldiers, radical Israeli settlers recently increasingly attacked Palestinian villages and set houses and shops on fire. Since the beginning of the year, more than two dozen people have died in attacks by Palestinians. During the same period, more than 140 Palestinians were killed in violent clashes, Israeli military operations, or after their own attacks.