The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced on Monday “an open war against the population of Jenin”, a city in the occupied West Bank described as a “nest of terrorists” by Israel.
Eight Palestinians were killed in Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank, on Monday July 3, during a vast operation by the Israeli army which mobilized hundreds of soldiers. During this incursion, the largest in the West Bank for several years, shootings and explosions shook the city and the adjacent refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups targeted several times by Israeli operations.
Eight Palestinians were killed and 80 others injured, 17 of them in serious condition, according to a report from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. “There is aerial bombardment and a ground invasion”, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Local authorities reported on Monday evening the departure of“about 3,000 people” of the camp, which housed some 18,000 Palestinians.
The new Israeli operation comes as the northern occupied West Bank has seen a recent spate of attacks on Israelis as well as anti-Palestinian violence by Jewish settlers. “Our forces have entered the nest of terrorists in Jenin (…) they are destroying command centers and seizing a considerable amount of weapons”said Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
The United States calls to “avoid the death of civilians”
The Israeli army reported clashes between soldiers and gunmen at a mosque in the Jenin camp, adding that weapons and explosives were later found there. She also said she targeted “a terrorist infrastructure” and one “operations center” serving as a command center for the “Jenin Brigade”, a local armed group.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced “an open war against the population in Jenin”. “All options are on the table to strike the enemy”reacted the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, while the leader of Hamas, Ismaël Haniyeh, deplored an Israeli operation “brutal”.
Abroad, neighboring Jordan has denounced “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, as well as of Israel’s obligations as the occupying power”. The Emirates, another Arab country with diplomatic ties to Israel, called on Israel to “refrain from any action that exacerbates tensions (…) and leads to the perpetuation of the cycle of violence”. The Arab League announced an emergency meeting on Tuesday. “We support Israel’s security and its right to defend its people”a State Department spokesman told Washington, adding that he was “imperative to take all possible precautions to avoid the death of civilians”.