Israel Launches ‘Significant’ Military Operation in West Bank, at Least Eight Palestinians Killed

An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Launches ‘Significant’ Military Operation in West Bank, at Least Eight Palestinians Killed

An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
An Israeli military vehicle uses a laser, on the day of an Israeli raid in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli security forces backed by helicopters raided the volatile West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, killing at least eight Palestinians in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a "large-scale and significant military operation".

The action, launched a day after US President Donald Trump declared he was lifting sanctions on ultranationalist Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian villages, was announced by Netanyahu as a new offensive against Iranian-backed fighters.

"We are acting systematically and resolutely against the Iranian axis wherever it extends its arms – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said. Judea and Samaria are terms Israel uses for the occupied West Bank.

The move into Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions over recent years, comes only two days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza and underscores the threat of more violence in the West Bank.

The military said soldiers, police and intelligence services had begun a counter-terrorism operation in Jenin. It follows a weeks-long operation by Palestinian security forces in self-rule areas of the West Bank to reassert control in the adjacent refugee camp, a major center of armed militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of which get support from Iran.

Gaza-based Hamas, which has expanded its reach in the West Bank over recent years, called on Palestinians in the territory to escalate fighting against Israel.

As the operation began, Palestinian security forces withdrew from the refugee camp and the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard in mobile phone footage shared on social media.

Palestinian health services said at least eight Palestinians were killed and 35 wounded as the Israeli raid began, a week after an Israeli air strike in the Jenin refugee camp killed at least three Palestinians and wounded scores more.

Since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and Israel and thousands of Palestinians have been detained in regular Israeli raids.

PROTECTING SETTLERS

Hardline pro-settler Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has responsibility for large parts of Israeli policy in the West Bank, said the operation was the start of a "strong and ongoing campaign" against armed groups "for the protection of settlements and settlers".

Smotrich earlier welcomed Trump's decision to lift sanctions on settlers accused of violence against Palestinians and said he looked forward to cooperating with the new administration in expanding settlements.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land Israel captured in 1967. Most countries consider Israel's settlements on territory seized in war to be illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited self-rule over some territory in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation.

In the days leading up to the Israeli military operation, Palestinians throughout the West Bank said multiple roadblocks had been set up throughout the territory, where violence has resurged since the start of the war in Gaza.

Late on Monday, bands of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property, near the village of al-Funduq, an area where three Israelis were killed in a shooting earlier this month.

The military said it had opened an investigation into the incident, which it said involved dozens of Israeli civilians, some in masks.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the settler attack in al-Funduq as well as the sudden appearance of multiple new barriers and roadblocks, which it said were aimed at "dismembering the West Bank".

"We call on the new American administration to intervene to stop these crimes and Israeli policies that will not bring peace and security to anyone," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office said in a statement.



Arab Proposal Aims to Counter Trump’s Plan to Displace Palestinians

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).
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Arab Proposal Aims to Counter Trump’s Plan to Displace Palestinians

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, and Qatar meet in Cairo a few days ago. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry).

An emergency Arab League summit, set to take place in Egypt at the end of this month, will discuss an Arab proposal aimed at ensuring Palestinians remain on their land. This initiative directly counters US President Donald Trump’s plan advocating for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the summit will present a unified Arab stance as an alternative to Trump’s. He emphasized that the plan will be based on Palestinian consensus and supported by broad Arab and international backing.

According to Arab League spokesperson Gamal Roshdy, the summit will focus on a reconstruction plan for Gaza while ensuring Palestinians remain in their homeland.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Cairo will host the emergency summit on February 27 to address the latest serious developments concerning Palestine. The meeting comes amid Trump’s continued push to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to other countries, including Egypt and Jordan.

Aboul Gheit firmly rejected any Arab concessions regarding Palestinian land, reiterating the Arab world’s commitment to a two-state solution. He slammed Trump for seeks to strip Palestinians of their rights, adding: “Neither he nor anyone else can buy Gaza.”

In late January, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denounced any forced relocation of Palestinians, calling it an “injustice” that Egypt would not accept.

The Arab League also issued a statement last week rejecting Trump’s plan, saying it violates international law and undermines the two-state solution that is seen as the only viable path to lasting peace and security between Palestinians and Israelis.

The upcoming summit’s Arab proposal revolves around three key objectives: rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians, launching a large-scale reconstruction initiative for Gaza and restoring the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) governance over the territory, leading to elections after a transitional period.

According to an Arab diplomatic source, Egypt and other Arab states are working on a framework to allow the PA to resume its administration of Gaza with minimal resistance from Hamas, which currently rules the coastal enclave.

Egypt has also announced plans to host an international conference, in collaboration with the United Nations, to facilitate Gaza’s reconstruction.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, political analyst Ashraf Al-Ashry noted that the proposal aims to prevent forced displacement, while enabling the PA to re-establish control over Gaza, ultimately paving the way for Palestinian elections.

Palestinian political analyst Shafiq Al-Talouli echoed this sentiment, stressing that Arab countries are taking serious steps to turn their vision for Palestine into reality by ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

“The most effective way to counter displacement efforts is Arab unity,” he stressed.

Moreover, he said post-war planning must focus on transferring control of Gaza back to the PA given that several European countries support this approach.

Such a step requires urgent Palestinian reconciliation, especially between Fatah and Hamas, he remarked.