Israeli Troops Commence Withdrawal from Jenin Camp Following Palestinian Attack in Tel Aviv

Israeli security officials have confirmed the initiation of the withdrawal of Israeli military forces from a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank, bringing an end to a two-day operation. The intense operation resulted in the death of at least 12 Palestinians, the confiscation of numerous weapons, and substantial damage to the area.

However, due to ongoing clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants in parts of the Jenin refugee camp, the planned pullout was delayed.

This development follows an incident in Tel Aviv, where a Hamas militant carried out an attack by ramming his car into a crowded bus stop and subsequently stabbing several people. Eight individuals were wounded, including a pregnant woman who reportedly suffered the loss of her baby. An armed bystander neutralized the attacker, and Hamas claimed that the assault was an act of revenge for the Israeli offensive.

In other news:

1. The escalation of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians raises concerns of a potential uprising.
2. Israel has initiated its most intense military operation in the West Bank in years, resulting in the death of at least eight Palestinians.
3. Israel’s air force conducted an attack on Syria, causing a Syrian air defense missile to explode over northern Israel.
4. Israel’s President, Herzog, is scheduled to address Congress in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Israel’s statehood.

During a visit to a military post outside Jenin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the operation, one of the most intensive in the region in nearly two decades, was nearing its conclusion. He expressed a commitment to conducting similar operations in the future, stating, “At these moments, we are completing the mission, and I can say that our extensive operation in Jenin is not a one-off.”

The Israeli military reported launching an airstrike on Tuesday evening, targeting a militant cell located within a cemetery. The military stated that these gunmen posed a threat to the forces withdrawing from the camp. No immediate information regarding casualties was provided.

Both Israeli and Palestinian officials reported ongoing fighting near a hospital in Jenin late Tuesday. Explosions and gunfire could be heard by a Big Big News reporter present at the scene. Palestinian hospital officials, as reported by the official Wafa news agency, stated that three civilians were injured by Israeli fire.

While an Israeli security official confirmed the beginning of the troops’ departure, they acknowledged that the withdrawal process was complicated by the ongoing clashes. The official spoke anonymously pending a formal announcement.

The Israeli military launched the operation on Monday, targeting the camp known as a stronghold of Palestinian militants. The operation aimed to destroy and confiscate weapons. Palestinian health officials reported 12 fatalities and numerous injuries, while thousands of camp residents fled due to the extensive damage caused by military bulldozers. The army justified the use of bulldozers by citing the presence of explosives planted in the roads.

The Israeli military stated that thousands of weapons, bomb-making materials, and money caches were confiscated during the operation. Weapons were discovered in both militant hideouts and civilian areas, including beneath a mosque.

The ongoing violence over the past year has posed a challenge for Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is primarily composed of ultranationalists advocating for stronger action against Palestinian militants, only to witness an exacerbation of the conflict.

More than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year, while Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis have resulted in the deaths of at least 25 individuals. This sustained operation has raised concerns among humanitarian groups regarding the deteriorating situation.

Doctors Without Borders accused the Israeli army of firing tear gas into a hospital, causing the emergency room to fill with smoke and necessitating the treatment of emergency patients in a main hall.

The office of the United Nations’ human rights chief highlighted that the scale of the operation raises significant issues regarding international human rights norms and standards, particularly concerning the right to life.

Although the military tactics employed during the operation bear resemblances to Israeli strategies from the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, the current operation is more limited in scope, focusing on specific strongholds of Palestinian militants.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli National Security Minister and a hard-line settler leader, promptly arrived at the scene of Tuesday’s attack in Tel Aviv. Ben-Gvir expressed the expectation of increased terrorist activity, praised the individual who neutralized the attacker, and called for more citizens to be armed. He faced opposition from an angry onlooker.

The attacker, a 20-year-old Palestinian man from Hebron in the southern West Bank, was hailed as a “martyr fighter” by the Islamic militant group Hamas. They described the car ramming as a “heroic act of revenge” for the military operation in Jenin. Another militant group, Islamic Jihad, which has a significant presence in Jenin, also praised the assault. It remains unclear whether the attacker acted independently or was dispatched by Hamas.

Rubble now fills the streets of Jenin, with columns of black smoke intermittently rising above the camp’s skyline. Jenin has been a longstanding flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian violence.

According to Jenin Mayor Nidal Al-Obeidi, approximately 4,000 Palestinians, nearly a third of the camp’s population, sought refuge with relatives or in shelters.

Kefah Ja’ayyasah, a resident of the camp, claimed that soldiers forcibly entered her home, locked her family inside, and separated the young men from the rest of the family. She alleged that soldiers prevented her from providing food to the children and blocked an ambulance crew when she called for help. Eventually, the soldiers allowed the family to proceed to a hospital.

Palestinians across the West Bank participated in a general strike to protest the Israeli incursion.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the death toll from the two-day operation had risen to 12. While the Israeli military claimed that at least 10 of the fatalities were militants, they did not provide further details. No immediate information on the latest deaths was available.

Condemnation of Israel’s incursion came from the Palestinian self-rule government in the West Bank, as well as from Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, all of which have normalized ties with Israel.

Israel has been conducting near-daily raids in the West Bank in response to a series of deadly Palestinian attacks since early 2022. These raids are aimed at cracking down on Palestinian militants and preventing further attacks. Palestinians argue that such violence is an inevitable consequence of 56 years of occupation, the absence of a political process with Israel, and increased settlement construction and extremist settler violence in the West Bank.

Since the 1967 Mideast war, Israel has held control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians aspire to establish an independent state in these territories.

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