Jenin (Agencies)
Yesterday, the Israeli army and police forces escalated their military operations in the Jenin camp, in the occupied West Bank, for the fourth consecutive day, and combed areas around the settlements after two separate security incidents last night.
Drones and helicopters hovered over Jenin and sporadic gunfire could be heard in the city, where hundreds of Israeli troops have been taking part since Wednesday in one of their largest operations in the West Bank in months.
The operation has drawn international calls for it to be halted, with Israel saying the operation aims to prevent armed groups from carrying out attacks on civilians. The death toll in the northern West Bank since dawn on Wednesday has risen to 22 after the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced the deaths of two people in the Jenin camp last night.
The West Bank operation highlighted the plight of Palestinian civilians, with no sign of a truce in sight in Gaza, where the Israeli military and Hamas have been at war for months.
Late on Monday, the Israeli military said two men were killed in separate incidents near Gush Etzion, a large West Bank settlement south of Jerusalem, and that the military believed they had tried to attack Israelis.
Israeli forces conducted sweeps in the area following the two incidents, and security forces also carried out raids in the city of Hebron, where the two men are from. An Israeli army spokesman said yesterday that Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a meeting with regional commanders on all fronts to assess the security situation in the occupied West Bank.
Halevi confirmed the continuation of the military campaign in the West Bank to thwart what he described as terrorist attacks in towns, roads and the seam zone, adding that the campaign in the Jenin area is continuing to thwart operations such as the one that took place on Friday night in the Gush Etzion settlement area.
Yesterday, Israeli media reported that a soldier and the commander of the Gush Etzion Brigade were injured in a double attack targeting settlers in the West Bank.
Jenin Governor Kamel Abu al-Rab says we do not know exactly what is happening there.
According to Abu al-Rab, there are Israeli measures to besiege hospitals and divide the city and camp into squares and consider them closed military zones, adding that ambulances, civil defense, and journalists are not allowed to enter or leave until we know the truth of what is happening.
Since last Wednesday, the Israeli army has been sending armored vehicles backed by the air force into Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas and their camps. Military vehicles have razed the asphalt from the roads, destroying infrastructure. Yesterday, small mounds of dirt and asphalt could be seen on the sides of these roads, in addition to destruction and gaps in buildings.
The Israeli military says the underground water pipes were accidentally punctured while it was searching for roadside bombs, but residents say it was deliberate.
#Israel #escalates #operations #Jenin #West #Bank