Israel Withdraws from Jenin, Trades Fire with Gaza

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Facts

  • Israeli forces withdrew from the northern West Bank city of Jenin late on Tuesday after a two-day raid involving 1k troops, drone strikes, and a ground assault that killed at least 12 Palestinians — mostly militant fighters — and injured more than 100.1
  • A crowd of thousands of Jenin residents, including dozens of gunmen, confronted senior Palestinian Authority (PA) officials on Wednesday during a funeral for those killed in the raid, forcing three of the officials to leave. Palestinian armed factions called the local fighters' resistance a victory.2
  • A few hours after the raid — the largest in two decades — five rockets were fired from the embargoed Gaza Strip into Israel, though no casualties were reported. In response, Israeli fighter jets struck two sites that the military described as weapon production facilities operated by Hamas.3
  • The raid forced thousands of Palestinians to flee the Jenin refugee camp, with residents of the camp reporting widespread destruction as they returned on Wednesday. Hamas said Tuesday that, in response, a Palestinian man wounded eight Israelis in Tel Aviv in a car-ramming and stabbing attack.4
  • The Israeli military said the raid, during which most of the estimated 300 Palestinian fighters in Jenin escaped the city, was only the first step in a series of operations to crack down on Palestinian armed groups, specifically Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).5
  • The situation in the West Bank has deteriorated in the last year as Israel, following a spree of Palestinian attacks last year, has launched regular raids in the area, primarily in the north. The number of attacks against Israeli settlers by Palestinians and vice versa in the West Bank has also increased in recent months.6

Sources: 1Reuters (a), 2Independent, 3New York Times, 4Associated Press, 5The Times of Israel, and 6Reuters (b).

Narratives

  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Israel is pushing the situation in the occupied West Bank to a breaking point by increasingly attacking Palestinian cities and committing war crimes. This attack on Jenin is reminiscent of the 2002 battle of Jenin, in which Israel killed over 50 Palestinians and laid waste to the city's refugee camp. Though Israel clearly wants to continue its assault on Palestine, it will have to keep in mind other fronts — such as Gaza and Lebanon — where it does not want to see an escalation.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Unfortunately, Israel was forced to react to increasing Iranian interference in the West Bank and break the mindset that Jenin can be used as a springboard to launch attacks against Israeli civilians. For too long, Palestinian terrorists have been allowed to operate relatively freely in the northern West Bank — this must change. Additionally, Iran has been increasing its support to terrorists, inciting a violent situation to which Israel must respond.
  • Narrative C, as provided by Guardian. The current situation in Jenin and the West Bank as a whole is the result of a new generation of Palestinians who grew up during the Second Intifada and cannot be controlled by the deeply maligned Palestinian Authority. Palestinian security forces hold little sway in cities like Jenin, which has created a ripe environment for young Palestinians to take up arms. Indeed, the fighting in Jenin stems from both Israel being caught off guard by local fighters' preparedness and the Israeli government sidelining the Palestinian Authority.