Israeli security forces have launched an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, a day after bands of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property and the new US president, Donald Trump, announced he was lifting sanctions on violent settlers.
At least six Palestinians were killed and 35 people were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its first responders treated seven people injured by live ammunition and that Israeli forces were hindering their access to the area.
The operation, codenamed “Iron Wall”, took place as the Gaza ceasefire entered a third day and was described by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as an “another step towards achieving the goal we set – strengthening security in Judea and Samaria.” He said it included police, military and the Shin Bet internal intelligence agency.
“We act methodically and resolutely against the Iranian axis wherever it sends its arms – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu added.
Jenin has been a focus of Israeli raids into the occupied West Bank throughout the 15-month war in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry says more than 800 people have been killed in Israeli raids since Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks that triggered the war.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, also launched its own raid into the area late last year while hoping to position itself as a serious player in governing postwar Gaza.
Sources quoted in the Israeli media said the operation was expected to last several days.
The Israeli government has accused Iran, which backs militant groups across the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, of attempting to send weapons and money to militants in the West Bank.
Israeli settlers have set vehicles and properties on fire in the Palestinian villages where dozens of Palestinian prisoners released on Sunday exchange for three Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas to Israel were are returning. More than 21 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have been inured as a result of the Israeli settlers’ attacks.
Jalal Bashir, the head of Jinasfut village council, was quoted as saying by Wafa news agency on Monday evening that the attacks took place in the villages of Jinasfut and Funduq, east of Qalqilya.
The Palestinian Authority has accused Trump of inciting Israeli settler violence after he on Monday rescinded sanctions imposed by the former Biden administration on far-right Israeli settler groups and individuals for allegedly committing violence against Palestinians.
The White House said Trump had rescinded an executive order issued on 1 February 2024, which authorised the imposition of certain sanctions “on persons undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank”.
