Israel’s Major West Bank Incursion Is Over. It helped?
Israel’s Major West Bank Incursion Is Over. It helped?
The Israeli military announced just before 8 in the morning on Wednesday that it had completed its incursion into the city of Jenin in the West Bank. The goal of this operation was to reduce the number of assaults carried out by armed Palestinians against Israeli civilians. A little over five hours later, and around 25 miles distant, gunfire fired from a car with Palestinian licence plates hit an Israeli police vehicle. There were no injuries, but the vehicle was damaged.
The military operation against armed terrorist organisations in the occupied West Bank lasted for forty-eight hours and was one of the largest in recent years. It included lethal airstrikes that had not been seen in the area for around twenty years. On the other hand, very few Israelis or Palestinians believed the assertions that in a short amount of time, the organisations that had lost weapons and personnel as a result of the invasion would rebuild, and that the troops would return.
It has been thirty years since the Oslo peace process sparked optimism that Palestinian and Israeli governments might exist side by side, but the possibilities for peaceful coexistence appear to be growing farther and further away.
The occupation of the West Bank, which dates back to the Middle East conflict of 1967, the continuous encroachment of Jewish settlements, and the lack of economic opportunity are all underlying roots of Palestinian discontent. The establishment of a Palestinian state is further away than it has ever been. The ultranationalist elements of Israel’s cabinet are opposed to any kind of political development or dialogue with the Palestinian leadership, which they view as being incapable of policing burgeoning hotbeds of militancy or unwilling to do so.
Before the raid, Jenin had become a no-go zone for Palestinian security forces and, increasingly, for Israeli forces. Israeli analysts said the military scored a tactical success in Jenin by searching the crowded, built-up refugee camp that the Israeli authorities have described as a haven for militants. Before the raid, the refugee camp had become a no-go zone for Israeli forces as well.
According to the military, over one thousand soldiers, the most of whom were commandos, located and demolished laboratories for the production of explosives as well as stores of weapons and explosives hidden within houses, under small roadways, and even in trenches beneath a mosque.
According to information provided by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the operation resulted in the deaths of twelve Palestinian citizens. Officials have stated that the Israeli security services have detained and questioned a large number of individuals, in some instances in order to get real-time intelligence. In addition to that, one Israeli soldier was shot and killed, most likely by accident by another Israeli soldier.
However, there was no deeper strategy behind the incident, and some believe that it may potentially inspire other acts of violence and retaliatory strikes.
“It doesn’t mean we’ve done what we’ve done, we’re out, and that’s it,” said Itamar Yaar, a former deputy chairman of Israel’s National Security Council and a colonel in the reserves of the Israeli military.”The operation was relatively short and limited,” he stated. “That means we might see similar activities” in the Jenin camp, although potentially on a smaller scale, he continued, “even tomorrow.”
Israel has stated that all of the Palestinians who were murdered were active participants in the conflict. At least nine Palestinian militants have been claimed as fighters by Palestinian militant organisations as of Wednesday evening. Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for eight of the fighters, including a 16-year-old child, while an armed unit that is loosely associated with Fatah has claimed responsibility for the ninth fighter. Fatah is the dominant Palestinian movement that controls the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian authorities have not disclosed whether or if any of those killed were civilians in their official statement.
Jenin, located in the hills close to the northern end of the West Bank, has long been a stronghold of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two most prominent militant groups fighting Israel. Additionally, the armed militias affiliated with Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian political faction that dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, also call Jenin their home.
More recently, Jenin, and notably the camp, has developed into a centre and a haven for unaffiliated armed groups that have emerged over the past year or two. These groups are comprised of a new generation of gunmen who operate on their own initiative and do not answer to the existing hierarchies and organisations.
Israel has conducted a number of quick operations into Jenin in order to apprehend Palestinians who are suspected of preparing or carrying out a large number of assaults against Israelis. Many have been fatal, with forces and armed militants engaging in protracted fire fights with one another. Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist, was tragically shot during one of these raids last year, most likely by an Israeli soldier. Her death occurred during the operation.
An operation that took place on June 19 of this year revealed that the threats that existed within the camp had reached a new level, which in turn kicked off an increasing cycle of violence.
