Cisgiordania under fire. Curfew and searches reminiscent of the second Intifada: at least ten victims: “Violation of international law”. Hamas: “We will resume suicide operations”
By: Anna Maria Brogi – Avvenire
Date of publication:
“Israel has approved temporary humanitarian truces in the Gaza Strip to facilitate polio vaccination for the local population,” Channel 13 reported, stating that the decision was made at the request of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Prime Minister’s office denies authorizing a ceasefire, but confirms approving the designation of certain areas in the Strip and that the decision was presented to the security cabinet and received support. Israel’s decision came late at night. Indirect confirmations also came from the words of Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani: “Israel is ready to start a vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is good news. But it’s not enough. A ceasefire is needed.”
Meanwhile, the West Bank has been set on fire. It had not been seen in twenty years; not since the second Intifada of 2002 had such a large-scale incursion occurred in the West Bank. Overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, the Israeli army launched coordinated attacks against Jenin, Nablus, Tubas, and Tulkarem with airstrikes and armored vehicles. At least ten people were killed: two in Jenin, four in a nearby village, and another four in a refugee camp outside Tubas. “Three of the victims, including two 13 and 15-year-olds, were killed as they passed near the targeted house, in a crowded alley,” denounces the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemning Israel’s “increasingly militaristic response,” which “violates international law and risks inflaming an already explosive situation.” Around fifteen were injured, including a child. The army would have “eliminated nine terrorists.” The number of arrests is unknown. The goal of the operation, said Foreign Minister Israel Katz, is to “dismantle the Iranian Islamist terrorist infrastructure” in the Jenin and Tulkarem camps.
The military imposed a curfew in the eastern part of Jenin. The residents of the Nur Shams camp, east of Tulkarem, had four hours to leave after being searched. “If we have to move people, we will do it; it will serve to protect the troops,” said Minister Avi Dichter.
Contradictory reports emerged about hospitals. According to the governor of Jenin, the army would have communicated its intention to raid the government hospital. Sources from within reported that the soldiers are checking passing ambulances to ensure they do not hide armed men or weapons. The Ministry of Health has warned of the repercussions of the siege and appealed to the international community and the Red Cross.
The Shuafat refugee camp, northeast of Jerusalem, was also attacked, where the access checkpoint is closed. The President of the Palestinian National Authority Abu Mazen interrupted his visit to Saudi Arabia to return to Ramallah to “monitor the evolution of the aggression.” He left for Riyadh on Monday, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He was supposed to go to Cairo to discuss the possibility of entering Gaza through Sinai with Israeli consent. The presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, described the raid as “the continuation of a total war against our people” that “will not bring security or stability to either party.” “They will pay the price,” he threatened.
The incursion followed violent clashes between armed settlers and Palestinians, with the intervention of soldiers, which had caused one death and three injuries in the village of Wadi Rahhal. This pushed Hamas to call for a “day of rage” in the West Bank. On Wednesday, the group declared that the Israeli operation “is part of a broader plan to expand the war from Gaza.” Also, late Wednesday, Hamas responded to the Israeli attack. According to Sky News Arabia, senior Hamas official and former deputy to Ismail Haniyeh (killed last month in Iran) Khaled Meshaal called for a resumption of suicide bombings in the West Bank. In a video address at a conference in Istanbul, Meshaal stated, “We want to return to suicide operations. This is a situation that can only be addressed with open conflict.”
After the massacre on October 7 that resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths and 252 abducted, Hamas’ popularity skyrocketed among the 3 million inhabitants of the West Bank. The consensus for Fatah, the party of President Abu Mazen, collapsed amid corruption allegations. Since Wednesday, Fatah’s armed wing has announced active participation in the fighting, including launching devices against the army. The Islamic Jihad terrorists, rooting in refugee camps, speak of the “open war by the Israeli occupier” that they accuse of wanting to “shift the conflict onto the West Bank, impose a new state on the ground, and annex it.”
In ten and a half months of war in the Strip, there are at least 628 (UN data) killed in the West Bank. In the same period, at least 20 Israelis died.
The United States has announced new sanctions against settlers, whose “extremist violence,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, “causes intense human suffering, damages Israel’s security, and undermines peace and stability prospects.” On Wednesday, the army admitted that the disturbances near Nablus two weeks ago, with houses and cars set on fire, were “a serious terrorist incident by settlers”: “We were unable to protect Palestinian residents.”
While negotiators from Israel, the US, Egypt, and Qatar met in Doha, the army recovered the body of a soldier killed on October 7 in Gaza.
According to the Jewish Chronicle, there have been several opportunities to target Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, but the fact that he is surrounded by 22 hostages has prevented it. The other 85, alive or dead, are said to be in the hands of smaller groups.
Also in Gaza, the UN reported that one of their vehicles was hit by Israeli forces with about a dozen shots. The World Food Program (WFP) suspended the movement of its staff in the Strip.”
