Israeli military treating West Bank as 'second combat front' after Gaza
The Israeli military is currently treating the occupied West Bank as “the second most critical front” after its war on Gaza, according to a report in Israel Hayom on Tuesday.
Citing Israeli security officials, the report said that recent events had triggered a major policy shift in the West Bank, an area that was previously designated as a “secondary arena” requiring “stable maintenance”.
"The Jenin operation is just the beginning," security officials said, citing a recent escalation in the West Bank city.
Israel has significantly stepped up its offensive in the West Bank since Wednesday, resulting in the killing of at least 30 Palestinians across Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas and Hebron.
The operation included drone and sniper attacks, as well as the use of military bulldozers to destroy critical infrastructure and cut off communications and resources.
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The raids, dubbed by Israel as Operation “Summer Camps”, form the largest such offensive in the territory since 2002.
The report by Israel Hayom suggested that a further series of raids was imminent and the operations were set to continue for “the foreseeable future”.
Security officials cited a number of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in recent days, including a car bombing near the Gush Etzion settlements south of Bethlehem that wounded three Israelis on Friday, and the killing of three Israeli police officers in Tarqumiya, near Hebron, by a former Palestinian Authority (PA) presidential guard on Sunday.
The officials noted that they were wary of causing unintended consequences in the West Bank, including the risk of a broader escalation.
The report notes that the Palestinian Authority’s security mechanisms had cooperated closely with Israeli forces following the attack on the Israeli police officers.
It added that the Israeli military aims for a “calmer West Bank” by October, the month of a number of major Jewish holidays.
The PA has been left weakened and directionless, with resistance groups bypassing the Palestinian leadership to confront Israel in the West Bank, analysts told Middle East Eye last week.
Far-right Israeli minister of settlement, Orit Strock, called on the government to go further and declare a state of war in the West Bank on Monday.
At least 682 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settler attacks in the West Bank since war broke out in Gaza on 7 October.
During that time, more than 3,000 Palestinians have been displaced due to Israeli army demolitions of their homes, while the United Nations has recorded 1,250 attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians.
More than 10,000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank since 7 October, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
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