Israel launches military operation in West Bank city
· DWIsraeli forces have begun an operation in Jenin, with local officials reporting at least two Palestinians killed. The city and its adjacent refugee camp — a known militant hub — has been a recent focus of Israeli raids.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that security forces had begun a counterterrorism operation in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, just days after a ceasefire went into effect in the other Palestinian territory of Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least two Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli strike on a built-up refugee camp near the city.
An Israeli airstrike in the refugee camp last week killed three people.
The operation was preceded by a weekslong attempt by Palestinian Authority security forces to regain control of Jenin and the camp, which is home to armed militant groups.
Escalating violence
The Gaza war has brought with it an increase in violence in the West Bank. The Health Ministry says more than 800 people have been killed by Israeli operations in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, when militant group Hamas carried out the attacks in southern Israel that triggered the Gaza conflict.
Israel says it is trying to eradicate militancy in the territory.
However, there has also been growing violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents of the West Bank.
Late on Monday, groups of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property, just as freshly inaugurated US President Donald Trump announced he was lifting sanctions that had been imposed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, against violent settlers.
The attacks came near the village of al-Funduq, in an area where three Israelis were killed in a shooting earlier this month.
tj/nm (Reuters, AP, AFP)