Israeli security forces, backed by helicopters, stormed the restive West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the 21st of January, killing at least four Palestinians in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “large-scale and significant military operation” to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin, reports Reuters un BBC.
The operation began a day after US President Donald Trump lifted sanctions against Israeli settlers who have attacked Palestinian villages.
Netanyahu said it was a new offensive against militant groups backed by Iran and “an additional step towards our stated goal of strengthening security” in the West Bank.
“We are systematically and resolutely confronting the Iranian axis wherever it spreads its weapons – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said. Judea and Samaria is the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank.
An Israeli military statement said the operation was called “Iron Wall” and would continue “for as long as necessary”. The military said that soldiers, police and intelligence services launched an anti-terrorist operation in Jenin.
It follows weeks of efforts by Palestinian security forces to regain control of the nearby refugee camp, a stronghold of armed groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
As the operation began, Palestinian forces retreated from the refugee camp and heavy shelling could be heard in footage circulating on social media.
Palestinian health services said that at least four Palestinians were killed and 35 injured when the Israeli raid began.
The move to Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out several raids and large-scale incursions in recent years, comes just two days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza, indicating the possibility of more violence in the West Bank.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is responsible for much of Israel’s policy in the West Bank, said the operation was the start of a “strong and continuous campaign” against militant groups “to protect settlements and settlers”.
Some 700 000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – territory captured by Israel in 1967 – among 2.7 million Palestinians. Most countries consider the Israeli settlements in the war-torn territory illegal. Israel disputes this, citing its historical and biblical ties to the land.
The internationally recognised Palestinian Authority has limited control over the territory in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation.
In the days leading up to the operation, Palestinians in the West Bank reported that several roadblocks had been established throughout the area, which has seen an increase in violence since the start of the war in Gaza.
Late on Monday night, gangs of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property, near a village where three Israelis were killed in a shooting earlier this month.
Israeli military launches major operation in Jenin to “defeat terrorism”
