Israel Launches Raid in West Bank
Neve Walker
Communications Liaison
Israeli forces have been using war-like and lethal tactics across the northern West Bank since late August. The United Nations (UN) argues that these attacks are deepening citizens’ humanitarian needs, raising concerns over the use of excessive force. Between August 27 and September 2, Israeli forces killed 30 Palestinians in the West Bank, seven of them children. This marks the highest weekly death toll since November 2023. Four members of the Israeli forces were killed. In August, Israeli airstrikes increased, killing 41 Palestinians, representing 44 percent of the total fatalities in the West Bank in 2024.
According to CNN, residents of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, have said that this has been the most “intense and sustained Israeli military operation in Jenin” since October 7. Citizens describe the widespread destruction of their city, from infrastructure, severed water, and food rationing. It has been the deadliest period in the West Bank since November.
According to residents, the military withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarem on Friday, yet an Israeli security source said that “the overall operation in Jenin is not over, it is only a pause.”
Israeli security forces on August 28 launched a self-proclaimed “counterterrorism operation” in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas, in the northern West Bank. Now, it is known as Operation Summer Camps.
“We will not let terrorism in Judea and Samaria raise its head,” Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the head of the Israel Defense Forces, said in Jenin over the weekend, using the biblical names for the West Bank commonly used in Israel.
As reported by Al Jazeera, the Israeli military has withdrawn from the city of Jenin, as well as its adjacent refugee camp following a deadly offensive. The Palestinian news agency Wafa has confirmed that on Friday, Israeli forces pulled out after a 10-day siege. Yet, citizens are still fearful that the military may return after repositioning at surrounding checkpoints.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported that at least 21 Palestinians, including children and elderly, have been killed in the violence. Along with this, over 130 others were injured during the siege in one of the most impoverished areas in the West Bank. In the wake of the withdrawal, the assault left behind demolished buildings, shattered infrastructure, and an emotional toll on those who lived through the siege. Journalist Leila Warah, as reported from the city of Ramallah, has noted that while people are relieved that the violence has ceased for the time being, the presence of Israeli forces in other parts of the West Bank, including Nablus and Balata refugee camps, still causes anxiety.
“Palestinians in Jenin are finally able to come out of their homes and see and assess the level of damage, while those who had to leave [the city] are finally coming back,” Warah said.
The Israeli military described the offensive as a counterterrorism operation, with a focus on Jenin and nearby Tulkarem. According to an Israeli military statement on Friday, the military killed 14 supposed terrorists and arrested over 30 supposed suspects during the operation. They also claimed to have dismantled approximately 30 explosives and destroyed a weapons cache hidden beneath a mosque, along with an explosives laboratory, as reported by Al Jazeera. Despite the withdrawal, the military has not officially confirmed the end of the operation. Instead, they emphasized that their forces had been engaged in necessary counterterrorism activities to protect Israeli citizens.
Image courtesy of Getty Images
