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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 20 January 2025

Israeli rights groups says settlers rioting in West Bank with military’s ‘full cooperation’

B’Tselem says Israeli settlers who are attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are acting in “full cooperation with the Israeli army”.

In a post on X, B’Tselem said that while the ceasefire progressed, the settlers’ motives were clear: “to impose a ‘price tag’ for the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons”.

As we reported earlier, B’Tselem noted the violence has already led to a 15-year-old boy being shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in Sebastia on Sunday.




Israeli forces block Palestinians from entering or leaving West Bank cities and towns

Israeli soldiers have set up military checkpoints and closed roads, preventing Palestinians from entering or leaving cities, towns and villages across the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media reports.

According to Palestinian media, Israeli forces have:

  • Closed all entrances to Hebron.
  • Closed all entrances to Qalqilya.
  • Closed all entrances to the city of Salfit as well as several towns and villages in the Salfit governorate.
  • Are closing all entrances to Bethlehem.

According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli soldiers fired live bullets and tear gas at Palestinians who attempted to approach at least some of the military checkpoints.


Palestinian houses, cars, business burned in latest settler violence across West Bank

There are reports of Israeli settlers carrying out attacks and acts of aggression against Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank, as well as Israeli forces arresting dozens of Palestinians.

Here’s what we know so far about the settler attacks:

  • Palestinian authorities in Jinsafut and Funduq, two villages roughly 70km (43 miles) north of Jerusalem, said that dozens of Israeli settlers attacked homes and a local businesses.
  • In Jinsafut, three Palestinian houses, a nursery and a carpentry shop located on the village’s main road were set on fire.
  • In Funduq, dozens of Israeli settlers fired shots, threw stones at homes and burned cars, homes and shops.
  • The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it treated 12 people who were beaten by settlers during the attacks on the villages.
  • Nine people were also treated for inhaling toxic gas after Israeli forces stormed the Palestinian villages that were under settler attack.
  • Israel’s military said it dispersed the settlers and launched an investigation but made no mention of damage inflicted, injuries to local Palestinian people, or arresting any of the attackers.
  • Settlers stormed a house in the Masafer Yatta area near Hebron and attacked Palestinian-owned vehicles near the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem, and in Dura city, southwest of Hebron, according to the Wafa news agency.
  • Wafa also reports that a group of settlers, protected by Israeli security forces, gathered near the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, and placed nails on the road to puncture vehicles entering and leaving the Palestinian community.
  • Settlers gangs also gathered near the village of Kafr Malek and Ein Siniya, near Ramallah, hindering the movement of Palestinian citizens.



Trump revokes sanctions on ‘extremist’ Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank

US President Donald Trump has signed an order to reverse US sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, which the former Biden White House described as part of the “extremist settlement movement”.

According to the new White House website, Trump revoked Biden’s Executive Order 14115 signed on February 1, 2024, which sanctioned David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil and Yinon Levi, three Israeli settlers accused of assaulting and intimidating Palestinians, and Shalom Zickerman, who is accused of assaulting Israeli peace activists.

The Biden administration had sanctioned 33 individuals and entities in the West Bank as of December 2024.



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SvennoJ on 20 January 2025

Main events from Januari 20th

  • Israeli snipers have shot and killed three Palestinians, including a small child, in Rafah in southern Gaza, despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 915 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on the second day of the truce deal.
  • The Palestinian Civil Defence says 137 bodies have been found in Rafah since the start of the ceasefire.
  • Israeli soldiers arrested dozens of Palestinians near Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, hours after releasing 90 Palestinians in an exchange deal.
  • Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian homes after launching violent attacks on the villages of Funduq and Jinsafut, in the occupied West Bank.
  • The Palestinian Red Crescent said 21 Palestinians were injured during Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank, including by tear gas and “severe beatings”.


Aerial images of Jabalia in northern Gaza taken following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which began on Sunday







SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

Trump extols war-torn Gaza’s good weather, ‘phenomenal location’ on the sea

US President Donald Trump has reportedly expressed scepticism about the Gaza ceasefire deal when asked if he was confident that all phases of the agreement would be implemented.

Trump also said that Gaza now looked like “a massive demolition site” and that it had to be rebuilt in a different way, the Reuters news agency reports, while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.

“I looked at a picture of Gaza. Gaza is like a massive demolition site. That place is, it’s really gotta be rebuilt in a different way,” Trump said speaking to reporters at the Oval Office.

“You know Gaza’s interesting. It’s a phenomenal location. On the sea. The best weather. You know everything is good. It’s like, some beautiful things could be done with it,” he said.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports that Israeli attacks on Gaza have so far killed at least 47,035 Palestinians and wounded more than 111,000 others since October 7, 2023.


Dark clouds loom at a tent camp for forcibly displaced Palestinians on the beach in Gaza near the Nuseirat refugee camp, on December 20, 2024


Trump refers to war-ravaged Gaza ‘like an estate agent’

He was speaking about it like an estate agent; describing Gaza in terms seldom heard by anybody who knows anything about that particular region.

He has made much of the peace deal though. Insisting that he is responsible for it. He’s had his Middle East peace envoy speak at a number of events in recent days. So it’s something that his administration is claiming full credit for.

How [the Gaza ceasefire] goes?

Well, clearly Donald Trump insists that the Hamas side keep to their deal completely.

He had threatened for “all hell” to come down should Hamas not have released those being held captive by the time he took office. Well, this has happened, or is in the process of happening.

However, at the same time, there is something of a threat from the Trump administration in terms of ongoing events in that region.


An aerial view taken with a drone shows the destruction in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Monday

Trump does not view Gaza through lens of Israel’s ‘political Zionist project’

I think there you see the difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, and Antony Blinken for that matter.

Joe Biden and Antony Blinken were self-proclaimed Zionists who deeply believed in the underlying project of what Benjamin Netanyahu has been doing since October 7, perhaps including ethnically cleansing Gaza.

Trump isn’t. He’s just looking at it through the eyes, the lens, of Donald Trump – what’s good for Donald Trump.

As far as the ceasefire is concerned, there has been a debate, since Trump pushed it through, as to whether he was committed to the second stage – given that he took $100 million dollars from Miriam Adelson, for example, and others in his cabinet want the genocide to continue potentially.

But, on the other hand, there’s reasons for hope. Because, for a start, one American captive won’t be released until phase two and the dead bodies won’t be released until phase three of the ceasefire deal.

And he is looking to that bigger picture. What’s good for Donald Trump. Not what’s good for some political Zionist project. But what’s good for Donald Trump.

And, on the other hand, he wants to be seen as a peacemaker. He said it in his speech. He wants that Nobel Peace Prize.

So if he wants lasting peace in the Middle East, then he can’t let Israel return to a US-supported genocide. Maybe other violence. But not all-out genocide.



SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

UN chief warns of occupied West Bank’s future amid Israeli calls for annexation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern about “an existential threat to the integrity and contiguity” of Gaza and the occupied West Bank due to Israeli actions and “unabated illegal settlement expansion”.

Addressing a meeting of the UN’s Security Council, Guterres said “senior Israeli officials openly speak of formally annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months”.

“Any such annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law,” he said.

The UN chief also urged Israel and Hamas to ensure that their newly-agreed truce leads to a permanent ceasefire and the release of captives.

The ceasefire must also involve simultaneous actions on the ground, Guterres said, including:

- Unhindered UN access throughout Gaza including by the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which Israel is seeking to ban.
- Scaled-up aid deliveries and ensuring Palestinians have access to that aid.
- And the protection of Gaza’s civilians.


Palestinians must have ‘self-determination and statehood’, Pakistan tells UN

Pakistan’s UN envoy, Munir Akram, has expressed support for Palestinian “self-determination and statehood” in a speech to a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting convened in response to the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

“Pakistan hopes that all stages of the ceasefire agreement will be fully implemented and that the ceasefire will become permanent,” Akram said.

“We hope also that the Palestinians will be able to agree on arrangements for Gaza’s inclusive effective governance.”

Akram called for Israeli troops to fully withdraw from Gaza, noting that “their presence is illegal” and called for “accountability for the crimes committed in this brutal war”.

He also called for Israel to immediately withdraw from the “separation zone” between Syria and Israel that Israeli forces occupied in December.

Pakistan began a two-year term as one of 10 elected members of the UNSC at the beginning of January.


Qatar calls for UN resolution on full implementation of Gaza ceasefire deal

Qatar’s representative to the UN, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, has called on the international body to help ensure the success of the Gaza ceasefire deal, including by passing a binding resolution supporting its full implementation.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Al Thani reiterated Qatar’s opposition to any attempts to “undermine a sustainable resolution to the Palestinian issue, including attempts to annex Palestinian territory and violate religious sanctities”, according to comments published by the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Qatar believes the ceasefire agreement should mark “the beginning of serious efforts to resolve the Palestinian issue”, she said.


UN Security Council meeting on Gaza ceasefire will reconvene on Friday

The UN Security Council will reconvene on Friday afternoon after running out of time to hear from all of the member states that wanted to speak at a meeting about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the situation in the Gaza Strip.

So far more than 50 countries have addressed the meeting, as well as the UN secretary-general, the European Union and the League of Arab States.

Eleven more countries are signed up to speak when the meeting reconvenes on Friday.



SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

UNICEF chief welcomes release of Palestinian children from Israeli prisons

In a post on X, Catherine Russell said the UN children’s agency “welcomes the release” of nine Palestinian children.

The children were among 90 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons as part of the first phase of the exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, in the early hours of Monday morning.

The children “were reunited with their families overnight in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, after being held in detention for over a year”, Russell said.


Gaza aid falls short of ‘ocean of needs’ despite significant increase in deliveries

Gaza has seen a significant influx of humanitarian supplies. We understand that on the first day of the ceasefire, more than 630 humanitarian aid trucks were sent into the enclave. Approximately 300 of those went to the northern regions.

Yesterday, the number of aid trucks increased to 915. They were carrying essential food items alongside water and medication. Today, we expect to see even more aid trucks flowing in.

We understand that the aid will be distributed today at humanitarian aid centres in all regions of Gaza. Still, this falls short of the ocean of needs of Gaza’s population.


A Palestinian man carries an aid box provided by the UNRWA, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on January 21

Current Gaza aid flow ‘not nearly enough’

The aid that is coming into Gaza is “merely enough to keep people away from hunger”, according to Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

“It is like putting a patient on a life machine and you can decide at any moment to shut it down and they are dead,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We are talking about a population of 2.2 million, who have survived the genocide, who live on the street by large, who have nothing, no basic necessities to live in dignified, simple living standards,” he added. “Most of them are traumatised. Most of them are sick.”

“Gaza deserves full opening up for humanitarian and development recovery aid, not just humanitarian aid,” Qarmout said.


Palestinian children stand with people gathered to receive aid boxes provided by the UNRWA, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, on January 21


People in Gaza cope with lack of shelter

Palestinians have started to return to their homes to assess the damage. Many have found nothing but debris left in their neighbourhoods, which were once bustling and full of children’s laughter.

People’s top priority now is to find shelter. We’ve seen some families set up makeshift tents near the remnants of their destroyed homes. They’re using salvaged material, like wood, metal, steel and sheets to protect themselves from the elements.

Others have turned to relatives or neighbours for refuge. It’s not uncommon to find many families living together in a very small space. People desperately need immediate assistance for shelter, as well as humanitarian aid.



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SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

Gaza’s civil defence retrieves 66 more bodies from under rubble

Gaza’s civil defence says its crews dug up 66 bodies under the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings yesterday. Fifty-eight of the bodies were in southern Gaza, while eight were in the north, it said.

Due to heavy bombardment, many of these bodies had been left under the ruins for months, complicating the process of identifying them.


A Palestinian walks near a destroyed building, in Bureij, central Gaza, on January 20


Isreali army issues number of rules, threats for Gaza residents

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, has issued a statement with the following points:

  • According to the [ceasefire] agreement, [Israeli] forces will remain deployed in specific areas in the Gaza Strip.
  • Do not approach [the] forces in the area until further notice. Approaching the forces exposes you to danger.
  • Movement from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip or towards the Netzarim road remains dangerous in light of [military] activity in the area.
  • If Hamas adheres to all the details of the agreement, then starting next week, the residents of the Gaza Strip will be able to return to the northern part of the Strip, and directives will be issued in this regard.
  • In the southern Gaza Strip, it is dangerous to approach the Rafah crossing area, the Philadelphi Corridor, and all areas where forces are concentrated.
  • In the marine area along the sector, there is a great risk of fishing, swimming and diving and we warn against entering the sea in the coming days.
  • It is forbidden to approach Israeli territory and the buffer zone. Approaching the buffer zone is extremely dangerous.


Israeli drone, gunfire injures 2 people in Gaza: Report

Despite the ceasefire, two people have been injured in Gaza by Israeli military fire, Wafa reports.

Off the coast of Gaza City, a Palestinian fisherman was hurt by Israeli gunfire, according to Wafa. And near Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, a drone injured another civilian, it said.

The attacks add to a series of casualties in the enclave since the ceasefire came into effect.

As we reported earlier, Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians, including a child, in Rafah.


‘There is nothing’: Displaced Palestinians return to ‘ghost towns’

As Gaza residents return to their hometowns for the first time in months, many are finding their neighbourhoods in ruins with no access to water, electricity or sanitation services.

“We wanted to come back to put up a tent during the ceasefire,” Hussein Baraka, a displaced Palestinian from Rafah whose home was destroyed in the war, told Al Jazeera. “It became a ghost town. There is no water. There is nothing. There isn’t even any level ground you can stay on.”

Mohammed al-Ballas, whose home was also destroyed in the area, added: “There aren’t any of the necessities for life here. … If you tried to keep an animal here, it would not survive.”


Mahmoud Abdalal started to clear the rubble of his house in Gaza City on January 21


Israel’s war on Gaza killed 214 children born after October 7: Media Office

Gaza’s Government Media Office has published the statistics of the war. Here are the key points:

  • Israeli forces killed all members of 2,092 Palestinian families.
  • 214 babies were born and killed since October 7, 2023.
  • 44 other children died due to malnutrition.
  • Eight people, including seven children, died from severe cold weather in their tents.
  • 1,155 medical staff, 94 civil defence employees, and 205 journalists were killed by Israel.
  • 4,500 people, 18 percent of them children, had amputations.
  • 70 percent of the victims killed were children and women.
  • 3,500 children are at risk of death due to malnutrition and a lack of food.
  • 12,700 wounded people need to travel abroad for treatment.
  • 12,500 cancer patients are facing death and need treatment.
  • 3,000 patients with various diseases need treatment abroad.
  • 2,136,026 cases of infectious diseases have occurred due to displacement.
  • There have been 71,338 cases of hepatitis B due to displacement.
  • 60,000 pregnant women are at risk due to a lack of healthcare.
  • 350,000 chronic patients are at risk due to the Israeli prevention of the entry of medicines.
  • 88 percent of Gaza was destroyed.
  • Initial direct losses amount to $38bn.


SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

UN says ‘wave’ of Israeli settler violence in West Bank coincides with Gaza ceasefire

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine has expressed alarm at the “wave of renewed violence” by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the occupied West Bank.

“The UN Human Rights Office is alarmed by a wave of renewed violence perpetrated by settlers and Israeli security forces in the Occupied West Bank, coinciding with the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement,” it said in a statement.

The OHCHR also said the violence was accompanied by reinforced restrictions on Palestinians’ freedom of movement, including the closure of checkpoints and installation of new gates, resulting in entire communities being locked in.

Highlighting multiple recent settler attacks on Palestinian villages as well as Monday’s raid in several West Bank towns by Israeli forces, which killed a Palestinian teenager, the OHCHR also said it was concerned about Israel’s plans to expand and increase operations in the Palestinian territory.




Israeli rights group shares video of settler attacks in occupied West Bank

As we have been reporting, there has been a wave of Israeli settler attacks across the occupied West Bank resulting in Palestinians injured and their property destroyed.

Yesh Din, which monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, has shared video clips showing Palestinian-owned vehicles and a building in flames from earlier attacks overnight on Monday.

According to the group:

  • Settlers set two Palestinian homes on fire and torched at least four vehicles in Sinjil village, located northeast of Ramallah.
  • In Ein Siniya village, settlers attacked and set fire to homes, north of Ramallah.
  • Settlers attacked and damaged Palestinian-owned property in Turmus Aya, northeast of Ramallah.
  • Settlers hurled stones at vehicles on Route 60, near al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus.




At least 20 Palestinians arrested in West Bank: Prisoners’ groups

The Israeli forces have arrested at least 20 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since yesterday evening until this morning, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS).

A journalist from Hebron and a woman from Ramallah were among those arrested across the governorates of Hebron, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Nablus, the joint statement said.

Israeli forces have raided the town of Beit Furik, east of the Nablus city, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency. So far, Israeli authorities have stormed at least 15 homes in the town and rounded up 13 people, according to the agency.

They have also ramped up security at checkpoints leading into Nablus, causing significant traffic jams, it said.


New wave of arrests near West Bank’s Hebron, Tulkarem

Israeli forces have rounded up more Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, arresting a total of 18 people in the towns of Idhna, near Hebron, and Shuweika, near Tulkarem, according to the Wafa news agency.

Five of those arrested in Idhna, which the Israeli forces began storming yesterday, are brothers from the same family, Wafa reported.

Israeli military vehicles have also raided the West Bank towns of Allar and Sidon, said Wafa.

As we’ve been reporting, Israel’s military has ramped up arrests and movement restrictions in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, while Israeli settlers have waged attacks in several Palestinian towns.


Israeli military armoured vehicles carry out a raid near Tulkarem



SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

Israeli settlements leader welcomes Trump’s reversal of sanctions on settlers: Report

Yossi Dagan, the head of the Northern West Bank Settlements Council, has welcomed Trump’s decision to reverse US sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“President Donald Trump’s decision to lift the scandalous sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Biden, upon entering the White House is not only an important moral message – it is also a political message that the United States is once again becoming a friend of Israel,” the Israel Hayom news outlet quoted Dagan as saying.

“This decision by Trump illustrates how much he loves Israel and how pro-Israeli and committed his base is to Israel,” he said.

“This illustrates more than anything else how much the Israeli government and the prime minister have a historic opportunity … to do great, historic things – whether the Trump administration agrees or disagrees – because this is a disagreement between friends,” he said.


Ben-Gvir, Smotrich welcome Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Israeli settlers

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have welcomed Trump’s reversal of US sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

“I welcome the historic decision of incoming US President Donald Trump to lift the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration,” Ben-Gvir said in a post on X.

“This is a righting of an injustice of many years, in which distorted policies were pursued by the American administration and also by local elements who confused lovers with enemies,” he said. “Now, all that remains is to hope for a change in policy towards the terrorist organisation Hamas, in a way that will not allow them oxygen and deals that help them continue their activities.”

Smotrich said on X: “These sanctions were a serious act of blatant foreign interference in the internal affairs of the State of Israel, and harmed the principles of democracy and the mutual relationship between the two friendly countries.”

Addressing Trump, he said, “your firm and uncompromising stand by the State of Israel is an expression of your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historic right to our land”.

Ben-Gvir resigned from the government in protest against the ceasefire deal in Gaza.


Hamas calls for ‘escalation of resistance’ to West Bank settler violence

In a statement, Hamas has condemned the latest Israeli settler attacks in the occupied West Bank towns of Jinsafut and Funduq and called for an “escalation of resistance in all its forms” to counter the violence.

“The escalation of settler terrorism underscores the urgent need for our heroic people across all governorates of the West Bank to rise in a sweeping wave of anger to deter the settlers and repel their terrorist attacks,” said the group.

The settler attacks, in concert with Israeli military campaigns, Hamas said, will not “succeed in pushing our people to give up their land and rights”. Rather, it will lead to “further steadfastness and defiance”.


Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemns Trump’s reversal of sanctions on Israeli settlers

The ministry has also warned “against attempts to detonate the situation in the occupied West Bank, in search of justifications to copy the crimes of genocide and displacement committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, and transfer them to the West Bank”.

Its statement denounced the “violent chaos” of the settlers’ “brutal attacks”.

The ministry said it held the international community responsible for “its failure to fulfill its obligations towards our people” and demanded international sanctions on Israel and its settler organisations.

It said it is working with humanitarian organisations to put international pressure on the Israeli government to ensure the settler attacks stop.



SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

At least 1 reported killed as Israeli army raids Jenin

The Israeli army has announced the start of a military operation in the occupied West Bank city, with initial reports saying one person has been killed.

Citing local sources, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli soldiers stormed the city from the Jalameh military checkpoint after a special unit infiltrated the area.

The raid coincided with Israeli drones bombing an empty vehicle near az-Zahra school in the vicinity of the Jenin refugee camp, without any injuries being reported, while Apache helicopters fired into the skies of the camp, Wafa reported.

The Israeli military said it was conducting a “counterterrorism” operation, without providing details.

Before the Israeli action, Palestinian security forces had been conducting a weeks-long operation to reassert control over the city, which is home to various armed groups.


Israeli raid in West Bank’s Jenin expected to last ‘days’: Report

The Times of Israel newspaper, citing a military source, reports the Israeli military’s ongoing raid in Jenin is expected to go on for at least several days, mobilising extensive soldiers, special forces and intelligence personnel.

The operation is codenamed the “Iron Wall”, said Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee.


Jenin death toll rises to 4: Ministry

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp has risen to four, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The number of injured also rose to 35, the ministry said.


Jenin operation will be ‘intense’: Israel’s Smotrich

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Israel’s ongoing raid in Jenin is designed to “change the security situation” in the occupied West Bank.

The military raid, in which six Palestinians have already been killed, “will be an intense and ongoing operation”, said Smotrich in a post on X.

He said it would target “terror elements and their enablers” in order to protect Israeli “settlers” and “settlements”, which he described as a “security buffer” for Israel.


Israeli forces kill six Palestinians in Jenin: Ministry

Six people have now been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp as a result of the continuing Israeli military operation, the Palestinian Health Ministry says.


Israeli forces in armoured vehicles conduct a raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on January 21


Netanyahu addresses Jenin operation

In a post on X, the Israeli prime minister said the military raid in Jenin is “another step towards achieving … security” in the occupied West Bank.

He also said it is part of Israel’s actions to counter the “Iranian axis”.

“We are acting systematically and decisively against the Iranian axis wherever it extends its reach – whether in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or Judea and Samaria – and our efforts will continue,” said Netanyahu, using the biblical name by which Israel refers to the occupied West Bank.


Jenin death toll rises

We have just received an update from the Palestinian Health Ministry about the casualties from the Israeli army’s raid on Jenin. The death toll has risen to at least seven people, with about 35 others wounded.





SvennoJ on 21 January 2025

Life for Palestinians in West Bank since Gaza ceasefire has been ‘horror and devastation’

We’ve spoken to Milena Ansari, an Israel-Palestine researcher for Human Rights Watch, about the current situation in the occupied West Bank.

Here’s what she said from occupied East Jerusalem: “We’ve been ringing the alarms and bringing attention to the West Bank because the repression was already at a peak, but lately, we were seeing more of an increase.

“Israeli forces have been using air strikes and drones and launching missiles to kill dozens of Palestinians, including children, in the West Bank. In the last 13 days alone of 2025, nine Palestinians were killed, including four children, by Israeli forces, and five of them were killed by air strikes.

“Just a few days ago, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. And just today, the Israeli military announced an operation called ‘Iron Wall’ in the Jenin refugee camp, and this does represent a seriously worrying risk of escalation with regards to use of force and mass atrocities in the West Bank.

“The daily life for Palestinians on the ground the past two days and since the announcement of the ceasefire has been horror and devastation. We’ve seen massive severe movement restrictions across the West Bank between communities, cities and villages.

“In Bethlehem alone, more than 89 gates, barriers and concrete blocks have blocked movement in and out of the city. And this directly impacts the ability of people to go to their homes, schools, universities and movement in general.

“For two consecutive days and nights, Israeli settlers have attacked villages and towns across the West Bank. They’ve been setting fires using Molotov cocktails at homes and vehicles of Palestinians, causing damage to property and injuring dozens of Palestinians.

“Even on highways, settlers have been throwing stones at vehicles, so even movement on a daily basis for Palestinians in the West Bank is a matter of really calculating and examining whether it’s safe to go home or to school.

“Last night alone, settlers entered the village of Funduq and burned vehicles and homes and Palestinian residences.

“Just so we’re clear, the Israeli government is the responsible authority here as they have approved and funded the growth of illegal settlements across the West Bank. And they have also enabled settler violence against Palestinians, including by providing settlers with weapons and arms.

“In many of the cases we’re seeing of attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli forces are either actively assisting in the attacks or are just standing by, providing protection to the settlers instead of stopping these attacks against Palestinians.”

Israeli army says Jenin operation ‘significant'

The Israeli army has said it is carrying out a significant operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

It has even been given a name, “Operation Iron Walls”, according to a memo from the Israeli prime minister’s office. They say they want to crack down on armed Palestinian resistance in the city, this is something they’ve been trying to do for several years.

Notably, the Israeli army chief of staff just 24 hours ago had said that the military must prepare for significant operations across the West Bank.

So while the ceasefire was called in Gaza, this is what the focus was on within the Israeli security realm. And it’s something Israel’s defence minister has been touting for a couple of weeks saying that there is going to be a significant army presence across the West Bank and the are going to do things different than what they were doing before.

This is a little bit difficult to believe because there has been a siege on the occupied West Bank the entire time the war on Gaza has been happening.


A Palestinian woman looks out from the top of her house to the destruction in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 28, 2002, after an Israeli raid

Fast facts: Jenin refugee camp

Here is a bit of background on the camp:

  • In the aftermath of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948, some refugees settled in what is now known as the Jenin refugee camp, where an estimated 14,000 people live.
  • The original camp was destroyed in a snowstorm, and the current camp was established in 1953.
  • During the first Intifada from 1987 to 1993, Israeli soldiers regularly raided the camp in search of armed Palestinians.
  • More than 400 houses were destroyed and hundreds were severely damaged. More than a quarter of the camp’s population was displaced.
  • In 2022, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli military sniper in Jenin while reporting on an Israeli raid.
  • Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli forces have launched regular deadly raids on the camp.


As fighting in Gaza stops, Israel launches major military campaign in West Bank

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/21/middleeast/israel-west-bank-operation-intl/index.html

The Israeli military killed at least seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as the prime minister announced the start of a “large-scale military operation” in the restive city of Jenin.

...

New ‘war goal’

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right nationalist who opposed the Gaza ceasefire, said in a statement Tuesday that security in the West Bank had been added to the country’s “war goals.” CNN has asked the Prime Minister’s Office for confirmation of that claim.

“After Gaza and Lebanon, today, with God’s help, we have begun to change the security concept in Judea and Samaria and in the campaign to eradicate terrorism in the region,” he said, using the biblical name by which Israelis refer to the West Bank.

Smotrich had publicly toyed with quitting the Israeli government over the Gaza ceasefire, but decided to stay in the cabinet after saying he had received assurances from Netanyahu on his commitment to continue Israel’s military operations.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health, which reported the casualties, said that 35 people injured as a result of the Israeli operation were transferred to several hospitals in the city.

A day before the operation was launched, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said the military “must be ready for significant operations” in the West Bank.

Israeli troops and settlers had killed 851 Palestinian in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem since Hamas’ October 7 attack, including 173 children. Meanwhile, 2024 was the third-deadliest year for Israelis in the West Bank since data collection began in 2008, according to the UN, which recorded the deaths of 34 Israelis – 15 soldiers and 19 civilians. Of those civilians, seven were settlers.