In the northern West Bank, a town of narrow alleys and old grievances has once again become the place where a longer conflict shows its hardest face. Israeli troops, two days into a large raid on the Jenin refugee camp, have left at least ten Palestinians dead, while thousands of families have scattered to relatives and shelters with little water or power. Behind the military arithmetic lies a pattern stretching back to the uprisings of the early 2000s, and a government under pressure from its own allies to answer recent attacks on settlers with force. What happens next will depend less on the
Israel Presses On With Jenin Raid as West Bank Death Toll Climbs to 10 and Thousands Flee
At least 10 Palestinians killed over two days, and about 4,000 residents fled the camp amid reported loss of water and electricity.
Bulldozers tore through alleys and thousands fled
Mark
Why does this raid stand out from the others this year?
Mimi
Its scale. Hundreds of troops, bulldozers cutting through alleys, and it's described as one of the most intense operations in the West Bank in nearly two decades.
Mark
And the human toll so far?
Mimi
Ten Palestinians dead over two days, according to the Health Ministry, and about 4,000 people have left the camp. Residents say there's no water or electricity.
Luke
Let's be careful with those numbers. The 4,000 comes from the mayor, and the death toll from the Palestinian Health Ministry. Neither is independently confirmed in this reporting.
Mark
What does Israel say about the dead?
Mimi
That all were militants. But the army hasn't given details.
Luke
Right, so that's a claim without specifics. The report also notes that across the year, stone-throwers and uninvolved people have died too, but it doesn't say who the ten were.
Mark
Why now?
Mimi
Israel cites some 50 attacks from Jenin over the past year. There's also pressure on Netanyahu from ultranationalist allies after a shooting that killed four people last month.
Luke
The political pressure is context, not a stated motive. Israel's own stated reason is the attacks. How long the operation lasts is unknown.
Il Polso
- Hundreds of Israeli troops are still inside Jenin's camp on the second day of a raid that has turned streets into rubble and sent black smoke over the rooftops.
- Ten Palestinians are reported dead, and the army insists they were all militants, while residents describe a camp left without water or electricity.
- About 4,000 people have fled their homes, crowding into relatives' houses and shelters as bulldozers tear through the alleys.
- Troops are seizing weapons, blowing up tunnels and command posts, and claim at least 120 suspected militants have been arrested since Monday.
- Across the West Bank, a general strike has shut down daily life in protest, and condemnation is arriving from the Palestinian authority, the OIC, and Arab states that have normalized ties with Israel.
- With Netanyahu pressed by far-right partners to hit back harder, the operation's end date is unclear and the confrontation may yet widen.
In the northern West Bank, a town of narrow alleys and old grievances has once again become the place where a longer conflict shows its hardest face. Israeli troops, two days into a large raid on the Jenin refugee camp, have left at least ten Palestinians dead, while thousands of families have scattered to relatives and shelters with little water or power. Behind the military arithmetic lies a pattern stretching back to the uprisings of the early 2000s, and a government under pressure from its own allies to answer recent attacks on settlers with force. What happens next will depend less on the walls of one camp than on whether a region already scarred by decades of occupation can find any path that does not run through more bloodshed.
On Tuesday morning, Jenin looked like a place still in the middle of a storm. Rubble covered the streets of the refugee camp in the northern West Bank, and every so often a column of black smoke rose above the roofs. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers remained inside on the second day of a raid that had begun on Monday, and military bulldozers had torn through the narrow alleys, damaging shops along the way.
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the two-day death toll had reached ten, with two more deaths overnight. The Israeli military says everyone killed was a militant, though it has offered no details. Jenin's mayor, Nidal Al-Obeidi, said around 4,000 people had fled, going to relatives or to whatever shelter they could find. Those who stayed described a camp without water or electricity.
The army says its troops are seizing weapons and explosives and destroying tunnels and command posts, and Israeli media report at least 120 suspected militants arrested since Monday. A military spokesman said the operation followed some fifty attacks over the past year that had come from Jenin, a place that has been a flashpoint since violence began climbing in spring 2022 and that was also a center of militancy during the second uprising two decades ago. Across the West Bank, Palestinians have answered with a general strike.
The raid is one of the most intense military operations in the occupied territory in nearly twenty years, and it comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces demands from ultranationalist partners to respond strongly to recent attacks on settlers. The Palestinian government, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Jordan, Egypt and the UAE have all condemned it. For now, troops remain in Jenin, thousands are displaced, and the open question is whether the operation ends soon or pushes the region further toward escalation.
On Tuesday morning, rubble lay across the streets of Jenin, and columns of black smoke rose now and then above the refugee camp in the northern West Bank. Hundreds of Israeli troops were still inside, in the second day of a raid that began Monday. Military bulldozers had torn through the camp's alleys, and there were reports of damaged shops.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the two-day death toll had risen to 10, with two more deaths reported overnight. The Israeli military has said all of those killed were militants, but it has not provided details. Jenin's mayor, Nidal Al-Obeidi, said about 4,000 Palestinians had fled the camp, finding places with relatives or in shelters. Residents said the camp had no water or electricity.
The army said its troops were seizing weapons and explosives and destroying tunnels and command posts. Israeli media reported that at least 120 suspected Palestinian militants had been arrested since Monday. Across the West Bank, Palestinians observed a general strike to protest the raid.
A military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said on Monday that the operation was launched because some 50 attacks over the past year had come from Jenin. The camp and the adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint since Israeli-Palestinian violence began escalating in spring 2022. Jenin was also a center of Palestinian militant activity during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.
The operation is one of the most intense military actions in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades, and it carries hallmarks of Israeli tactics from that uprising. It comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure from ultranationalist allies in his coalition to respond forcefully to recent attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting last month that killed four people.
The raid drew condemnation from the Palestinian self-rule government in the West Bank, from the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and from three Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel: Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
The raid sits inside a wider spike. More than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year, in more than a year of some of the worst bloodshed there in nearly two decades. Palestinian attacks on Israelis have killed at least 26 people. Israel says its raids are meant to crack down on militants and stop attacks, and that most of those killed have been militants. Stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and people not involved in confrontations have also died.
Palestinians argue that such violence is inevitable without any political process with Israel, and with growing settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, and Palestinians want those territories for an independent state. With troops still inside Jenin and thousands displaced, the questions now are how long the operation lasts and whether the regional condemnation and domestic pressure on Netanyahu push it further.
Citazioni salienti
Israel launched the operation because some 50 attacks over the past year had emanated from Jenin.— Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesman
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