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Israel launches major deadly raid in occupied West Bank
Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the ongoing war there. Israel claims it is trying to prevent attacks on its citizens, while Palestinians in the West Bank fear it intends to broaden the war and forcibly displace more of them, according to AP.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said “large forces” had entered Jenin as well as Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camp dating back to the 1948 Mideast war, all in the northern
West Bank.
He said Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including three in an airstrike in Tulkarem and four in an airstrike in Al-Faraa. He said another five people were arrested, and that the raids were the first stage of an even larger operation.
Hamas announced that 10 of its fighters had been killed in the West Bank on Wednesday. Palestinian resistance groups said they were exchanging fire with Israeli troops.
The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz drew comparisons with Gaza and called for similar measures in the West Bank.
Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up, calling the raids part of a larger plan to expand the war in Gaza and blaming the escalation on US support for Israel. The group called on security forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority, which cooperate with Israel, to “join the sacred battle of our people.”
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the raids as a “serious escalation”. Abbas later announced he was cutting short a visit to Saudi Arabia and returning to the West Bank, where his government is based.
At least 652 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began over 10 months ago, according to the Palestinian ministry. Most have died during raids, which often trigger gunbattles with resistance fighters.