Israel launches massive Jenin operation to root out terrorists
Reports said that Palestinian Authority security forces, which launched an operation against Hamas and other terrorists in the northern West Bank city, withdrew as Israeli forces entered
The Israel Defense Forces said a counterterrorism operation had been launched in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday.
Calling the Operation "Iron Wall," the IDF said the mission, in collaboration with the Shin Bet security agency, aimed at thwarting terrorist elements in Jenin, which has long been a hotbed of terrorist activity in the West Bank.
"On the directive of the Security Cabinet, the IDF, the ISA and the Israel Police have today begun an extensive and significant military operation to defeat terrorism in Jenin – 'Iron Wall,'" said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"This is an additional step in achieving the objective that we have set – bolstering security in Judea and Samaria," he said, referring to the biblical term for the area now called the West Bank.
"We are acting methodically and with determination against the Iranian axis wherever it reaches – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Judea and Samaria – and we are still active."
In response to the operation, the Jenin Battalion said: "Our fighters continue to confront the Israeli forces invading the fighting axes and raining down bullets on the enemy forces." The group has hundreds of members since its founding in 2021, constituting both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters.
Palestinian reports said that an Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle in Jenin, while the Palestinian Authority (PA) health ministry said at least four Palestinians were killed and dozens others wounded.
Eyewitnesses posting on social media said that the PA was withdrawing from Jenin as the IDF was entering. The PA security forces, however, said that the operation was a surprise launched without coordination, and that the casualties include members of the security apparatus.
The PA launched a massive operation last month to root out terrorists, leading to popular outcry led by supporters of terrorist groups in the West Bank. On Friday, the sides agreed on a disarmament deal, although the Jenin Battalion denied this.
A security source told i24NEWS that the operation was launched after a lack of results by the PA forces.