Israel escalating in West Bank to ‘overcompensate’ for Gaza ceasefire
Israeli forces are ramping up operations in the occupied West Bank – specifically in Jenin – to “distract” from the Gaza ceasefire deal, which is being viewed domestically as a “spectacular failure” for Prime Minister Netanyahu, says political analyst Mohamad Elmasry.
“The ceasefire in Gaza was kind of a defeat for Netanyahu. Israeli media reports are calling it an embarrassment for him to have Hamas, after all these months, still very much alive and well and operational in Gaza,” Elmasry told Al Jazeera.
“Now what the Israeli government is doing is trying to distract from that and sort of overcompensate by escalating in the West Bank.”
Elmasry highlighted that since the ceasefire began, Israel has made dozens of arrests in the West Bank, offsetting the release of 90 prisoners under the agreement so far.
“This is a way for the Israeli government to show its ardent supporters and especially those on the right wing that this is only temporary in Gaza and [Israel is] still able to do whatever we want in the West Bank,” he said.
Israeli military sends reinforcements to Jenin: Report
The Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that the Israeli army has sent military reinforcements to the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp.
Wafa’s correspondent reported that Israeli military bulldozers destroyed streets near the Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital, the entrance to Jenin Government Hospital, and the vicinity of a roundabout at the entrance to the Jenin refugee camp.
As we reported earlier, Israeli forces killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded dozens in the raid on Jenin that started on Tuesday and comes as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds in Gaza.
Israeli military veterans warn occupied West Bank’s Jenin is being ‘Gazafied’
Breaking the Silence, an Israeli veterans’ advocacy group, said Israeli settlers have been allowed, over “multiple straight days”, to “torch villages throughout the West Bank” and the military has now launched an “all-out” operation in Jenin.
The group said that Jenin now faces being “Gazafied” by the Israeli military, “complete with airstrikes and destruction of infrastructure”.
In a series of posts on social media, the group also shared a video clip of dozens of masked Israeli settlers arriving at the Palestinian village of Fundup, where they began to torch vehicles while “a clearly visible” Israeli police car stood nearby.
Gunfire as Palestinian fighters confront Israel’s ‘Iron Wall’ operation in Jenin
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have shared a video clip of what it said was a Palestinian resistance fighter confronting Israeli forces who have launched a major raid on Jenin city and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Sustained gunfire can be heard in the night-time video footage as an Israeli military vehicle moves along a street and Israeli drones can be heard in the sky overhead.
Israel’s military killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded dozens when they raided Jenin on Tuesday in an operation the military have codenamed “Iron Wall”.
Israeli forces blocked ambulances responding to shooting victims in Jenin raid
Israeli forces taking part in the deadly “Operation Iron Wall” in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin blocked ambulance crews who raced to save lives in the Palestinian city and refugee camp.
At least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in the raid which involved Israeli troops, armoured vehicles, military bulldozers, drones and Apache attack helicopters.
Fawwaz Hammad, the director of the al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, said on Tuesday that it was not possible to give an exact number of those wounded by Israel’s military “because there are so many”.
“And ambulances can’t reach them to bring them to hospital,” he said.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces are installing new iron gates at the entrances to towns and villages across the occupied West Bank, as part of a policy of “tightening the siege” on local communities and turning them into “isolated areas” where movement is severely restricted.
Israeli forces raid villages and cities across occupied West Bank
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Israeli forces have launched more raids on cities and towns across the occupied West Bank, including:
- The towns of Sa’ir, ad-Dhahiriya and ash-Shuyukh as well as the Arroub refugee camp in Hebron
- The city of Bethlehem and the nearby town of Tuqu.
- The towns of Beit Sira and al-Mazraa al-Gharbiya, near Ramallah.
- The city of Nablus as well as the towns of Beit Furik and Rojib, east of Nablus.
Palestinian vehicles line up outside the Israeli controlled Beit Furik checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, east of Nablus, on Tuesday
Essay Pro