With a ceasefire in place in Gaza, Israel has “turned its attention” to the occupied West Bank with a “large-scale crackdown” centred on the city of Jenin, which has killed at least 10 and wounded dozens, said The New York Times.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s “extensive and significant” operation was aimed at “eradicating terrorism”, and defeating an increasingly popular Hamas.
What did the commentators say?
Since Hamas’ 7 October attack, the Palestinian Authority (PA) – which governs parts of the West Bank in conjunction with Israel – has been “losing support” to factions like Hamas that favour violence, said The New York Times. Hamas’ backer Iran has “flooded the territory with weapons”, fomenting unrest. Recently, raids and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have also “escalated”, injuring more than 21.
These settlers are “enraged” by the return of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal, said The Economist. Their rioting was the “immediate trigger” for Israel’s “clampdown”, although Israel denies that the “show of force” in Jenin is intended to “assuage” the settlers. “We are determined both to fight Hamas wherever it tries to operate and to prevent violence by Israeli citizens,” said one senior officer.
But this is Israel’s “third major incursion” into Jenin in two years, said Al Jazeera. The city is a “longtime stronghold of resistance” to Israel’s occupation, and is home to one of the original refugee camps for Palestinians displaced by war. Jenin’s governor told AFP that Israeli bulldozers had destroyed roads leading to the camp and the city’s hospital, blocking ambulances.
Israeli forces have also “choked off entrances and exits to Palestinian cities across the West Bank using checkpoints”, said The Guardian. Israel’s operation is intended to undermine the PA, to destabilise the West Bank and to continue to annex the territory, said Yagil Levy, of the Open University of Israel.
What next?
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for “maximum restraint” from Israeli forces in Jenin.
He told the UN Security Council he feared “an existential threat to the integrity and continuity” of Gaza and the West Bank from Israel, amid the “unabated” expansion of illegal Israeli settlements.
Benjamin Netanyahu launches ‘extensive and significant’ operation, with deadly strikes on Jenin, arrests and checkpoints across the occupied territory
