Why is Israel targeting Jenin and the West Bank?

In the days since the Gaza ceasefire agreement was reached, Israel has turned its attention to the Palestinian city, about 75 miles northeast of the enclave.

The Israeli military said this as part of its troops left Gaza on Wednesday was progressing with the operation In the city of Jenin, which is located in the northern part of the West Bank, occupied by Israel. The city has been a haven for militants and the target of raids by Israeli security forces for decades.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, Hamas has become increasingly popular and asserts its presence in the West Bank. There is Iran, which supports Hamas and other armed groups in the region filled the area with weapons. The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank in coordination with Israel, has seen its weak influence further eroded.

Now, it seems, Israel is turning its attention to the West Bank, specifically Jenin. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel’s latest operation was aimed at “eradicating terrorism” and would be “extensive and significant”.

What you need to know about Jenin and Israel’s latest operation there.

What’s going on?

On Wednesday, the spokesman of the Israeli army said that 10 militants were “shot down” during the Jenin operation, without giving further details. Earlier, Israel said it had killed eight militants since the start of the raid.

The Palestinian health ministry said 10 people have been killed in and around Jen since the raid began. And Palestinian officials, citing Wafa, the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority, said at least four people were wounded in the city on Wednesday.

Other cities in the West Bank were also targeted in the raids. Israeli forces have arrested at least 25 Palestinians in the West Bank since Tuesday evening, the Palestinian Authority’s Detainee Affairs Commission said.

Why is Israel targeting the West Bank?

From October 7, 2023 Attack led by Hamas The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is losing support to groups like Hamas that support armed struggle and actively fight against Israel. request By the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Studies.

At the same time, Israel’s deadly raids and attacks by Jewish settlers Tensions between Palestinians in the West Bank increased. Israeli leaders said that the military raids were aimed at fighting terrorism in the region.

Israel’s army chief of staff, Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi, said in a speech on Tuesday that his forces had killed 794 militants in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began. “In most cases, we prevented the threat from terrorists before they could reach Israeli citizens,” he said.

Who Arms the Gunmen?

Iran operates A secret smuggling route through the Middle EastThe United States uses intelligence operatives, militants and criminal gangs to deliver weapons to Palestinians in the West Bank, according to officials from Israel and Iran. Iranian officials said the aim was to create unrest against Israel by flooding the area with weapons.

Israeli security forces conducted a large-scale operation On the West Coastsaid that this is part of Israel’s anti-terrorist efforts against Hamas and other armed groups.

What is the Palestinian Authority doing?

The Palestinian Authority is the governing body in some areas of the occupied West Bank. In December, its security forces began a crackdown on militants in and around Jenin, where the government had lost control. The region is known as a stronghold of militant groups, including Hamas, which call for armed resistance to Israel.

The Palestinian Authority withdrew from a peace process between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the 1990s that was supposed to lead to the creation of a Palestinian state, but never materialized.

In practice, the Israeli military – the occupying forces in the area – has security control over Palestinian cities. The Palestinian Authority manages some local affairs, including garbage collection, education, hospitals and schools, and has its own security forces that coordinate with their Israeli counterparts but have limited powers.

Jenin has long been a symbol of resistance.

of the city reputation for resistance It is set in the 1930s, when Palestinians took up arms against British rule in Palestine. Arab Revolt.

Later, in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the creation of modern Israel and the fleeing or expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, Jenin cemented its reputation as a city that never surrendered to Palestinian fighters supported by Iraqi soldiers. He defeated Israel’s attempt to buy it.

The city is home to one of the first refugee camps for Palestinians displaced by that war.

In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank after a war with neighboring Arab states. Jeni’s resonance today for both Palestinians and Israelis stems in large part from the second intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation in the early 2000s.

Israelis remember the city as the source of dozens of kamikaze attacks sent into Israel at the time, and Palestinians remember a 10-day battle between militants and Israeli forces in 2002 that killed 52 Palestinians, half of them civilians. for United Nations.

Jenin has often been the target of raids by Israeli forces. Both Hamas, which controls Gaza, and Islamic Jihad militant groups have gathered troops in Jenin. And in recent years, there are new militias that are loosely associated with more established groups appeared among the younger generation ie He is dissatisfied with the Palestinian leadership they consider the Israeli occupation corrupt and possible.

Lara Jakes, King Abdul Rahim, Isabel Kershner, Erica Solomon Aaron Boxerman contributed to the report.