Israel targets West Bank militant stronghold with drones, hundreds of troops, killing 5 Palestinians

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Early on Monday, Israeli drones conducted a series of strikes against a militant stronghold in the West Bank, while hundreds of troops were deployed in the region, resulting in a situation reminiscent of large-scale military operations from the second Palestinian uprising twenty years ago. Palestinian health authorities report that these actions led to the deaths of five Palestinians.

In the Jenin refugee camp, Israeli troops maintained their presence, continuing with the largest operation in the area seen in over a year. This was in response to a growing demand domestically for decisive action following a series of attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting incident last week which claimed four lives.

As the military operation progressed, plumes of black smoke filled the air over the camp’s crowded streets. In certain areas, electricity was disrupted, and military bulldozers navigated through narrow lanes – a scene that evoked memories of Israel’s incursions during the previous uprising. Both the Palestinians and neighboring Jordan expressed their condemnation of this violence.

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According to Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesperson, the operation commenced shortly after 1 a.m. with an airstrike on a building used by militants to plan attacks. The objective of the operation, he stated, was to dismantle and seize weapons.

“We do not intend to seize territory,” he said, “our actions are aimed at specific targets.”

Hecht confirmed that roughly 2,000 soldiers, equivalent to a brigade-sized force, were involved in the operation, and that military drones had executed multiple strikes to facilitate the advance of ground forces. While isolated airstrikes have been conducted by Israel in the West Bank in recent weeks, Hecht highlighted that Monday’s series of strikes represented a significant escalation, the likes of which haven’t been seen since 2006 – the conclusion of the Palestinian uprising.

While Israel presented the attack as a precision operation, billowing smoke was visible from within the densely populated camp, with nearby mosque minarets in the backdrop. Ambulances hurriedly transported wounded individuals to hospitals, where they were received on stretchers.

Armored bulldozers navigated through the tight streets to make way for troops, causing property damage in the process. Power outages were reported by residents across large parts of the camp.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the military established roadblocks within the camp, commandeered houses and buildings, and stationed snipers on rooftops.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that five Palestinians were killed, while 27 others were injured on Monday, with three in critical condition. As per Hecht, up to seven militants are believed to have been killed.

In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, as reported by the ministry.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian president, issued a statement saying, “Our Palestinian people will not kneel, will not surrender, will not raise the white flag, and will remain steadfast on their land in the face of this brutal aggression.”

Jordan has urged Israel to cease its incursions into the West Bank.

The Jenin camp and the neighboring town of the same name have been focal points of escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence since spring 2022. Historically, Jenin has been a stronghold for armed resistance against Israel and was a major hotspot in the last Palestinian uprising.

In 2002, following a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 30 people during a large Passover gathering, Israeli troops initiated a substantial operation in the Jenin camp. Over the course of eight days and nights, they clashed with militants street by street, using armored bulldozers to destroy rows of homes, many of which had been rigged with explosives.

Monday’s raid took place two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin, and followed a report from the military of a rocket being fired from the area last week, landing in the West Bank.

“There has been a dynamic here around Jenin for the last year,” Hecht said, justifying Monday’s strategies. “It’s been intensifying all the time.”

However, there might also have been political motivations at play. Key members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, largely supported by West Bank settlers and their allies, have been advocating for a wider military response to the ongoing violence in the region.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist who recently called for Israel to kill “thousands” of militants if required, took to Twitter to express his admiration for the troops. He said, “Proud of our heroes on all fronts and this morning especially of our soldiers operating in Jenin,” adding, “Praying for their success.”

With Monday’s events, the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year has risen to 133. This forms part of a surge in violence that has resulted in the most significant bloodshed in the area in nearly two decades.

The surge in violence escalated last year after a string of Palestinian attacks prompted Israel to intensify its raids in the West Bank.

Israel asserts that these raids aim to curb militancy. However, Palestinians argue that such violence is inevitable in the absence of any political negotiations with Israel, and due to an increase in West Bank settlement construction and violence perpetrated by extremist settlers. They perceive the escalating Israeli military presence in the area as an extension of Israel’s 56-year occupation of the territory.

Israel maintains that most of those killed have been militants, but the fatalities also include stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and individuals not involved in the confrontations.

Since the beginning of the year, Palestinian attacks on Israelis have resulted in 24 deaths.

During the 1967 Mideast war, Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians seek these territories for their prospective independent state.

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This report includes contributions from Omar Akour, a writer for Big Big News, reporting from Amman, Jordan.

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More about Israeli military operation

• Background of Israel-Palestine conflict
• More about the Jenin refugee camp
• Understanding the second Palestinian uprising
• Israel’s military operations in West Bank