Major Operation Launched by Israel in the West Bank

August 28, 2024 TruthUSA

Palestinian health officials report that at least 9 Palestinians have been killed, with the IDF confirming its presence in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm.

Nine Palestinians have lost their lives following Israel’s deployment of troops in the West Bank on Wednesday for a counter-terrorism operation.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) verified its operations in Jenin and Tulkarm but has yet to disclose specific details.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, two individuals—Qassam Muhammad Jabarin, 25, and Asem Walid Balout, 39—were killed in Jenin, while seven others were reportedly killed in nearby Tubas early on Wednesday.

The ministry, controlled by Fatah unlike the Gaza health ministry, asserts that 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Hamas initiated attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.

Israel maintains that it has been targeting terrorist organizations, and on Wednesday, some of these groups claimed to be engaging in fire exchanges with the IDF.

IDF Surrounds Jenin

The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, informed a Palestinian radio station that the IDF had imposed a blockade on the city and was preventing access to hospitals.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza after defeating an alliance led by Jordan, Egypt, and Syria.

In 2005, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon withdrew Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and abandoned some settlements.

Hamas took control of Gaza after clashes with Fatah, following the death of their leader Yasser Arafat in 2004.

In 1993, Arafat signed the Oslo Peace Accords, intended to facilitate a two-state solution, which ultimately failed after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and a series of suicide bombings in Israel, leading to the construction of a security wall separating the West Bank from Israel.

Fatah retained political power in the West Bank, where Israel has constructed numerous settlements accommodating 500,000 Jewish settlers.

These settlements are deemed illegal under international law, but Israel has disregarded calls from the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States to halt construction.

In 2016, the UN Security Council passed a resolution reaffirming that “Israel’s establishment of settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, had no legal validity” and constituted a “flagrant violation under international law.”

The United States abstained from voting.

On Tuesday, the IDF announced the successful rescue of Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a 52-year-old ethnic Bedouin held hostage since Oct. 7 during a “complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip.”

Contributions from the Associated Press and Reuters to this report.

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