Israeli forces have killed at least 12 Palestinians in Jenin in a widespread assault [Getty]
Israeli troops have killed two more Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, taking the death toll in Israel’s ongoing assault on Jenin to 12 and wounding at least 50 people, with the operation set to be expanded in the occupied territory.
Israel’s intelligence service said they are fighting a “multi-front war”, as military vehicles and bulldozers razed buildings in the town of Qabatiya, north of Jenin overnight and on Friday morning.
Drones and military helicopters flew above homes, calling on alleged Palestinian fighters to surrender.
“We need to be prepared to continue in the Jenin camp, which will bring it to a different place,” the head of Israel’s military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said.
According to Reuters, hundreds of residents of Jenin have been expelled from their homes this week as Israel demolished homes and expanded operations in the city.
However, the Israeli army denied it was expelling Palestinians, saying it was “enabling any resident who chooses to exit from the area to do so via secure and organised routes with the protection of Israeli security forces”, reminiscent of the forced displacements in Gaza.
At least 34 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since the start of this year, the UN group OCHA said, including six children.
Israeli settler violence has also surged, with at least 17 Palestinians wounded in the past week, OCHA added, with illegal checkpoints erected across the occupied West Bank, heavily restricting the movement of people.
Hospitals in the West Bank are now running at just 70 percent capacity due to the ongoing Israeli military raids and assaults by settlers, putting patients at further risk.
This has come alongside an arrest campaign which has seen 15 Palestinians detained in recent hours, Al-Jazeera reported.
Arab states condemnation
Several Arab states have strongly condemned the Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, dubbing it a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law”, which coincides with a nominal disengagement in Gaza as the US pressures Israel and Hamas to abide to a truce deal.
Most states called on the international community to put an end to such “Israeli violations” which they said threaten regional stability.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Thursday strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli operation that was a “flagrant violation of the international humanitarian law and human rights”.
It called on the international community to “face these violations” and act “to provide full protection for civilians”.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the Israeli operation that had left many “martyrs and wounded”, as well as the “wide destruction” to the infrastructure and the displacement of a [large] number of families”.
“The Israeli occupation’s continuation of its flagrant violations of the international law and international humanitarian law and its unaccounted for violation of international resolutions represent a threat to regional security and stability,” the ministry said.
The Saudi foreign ministry emphasised that these “continued violations… undermine chances of peace in the region”.
Egypt’s foreign ministry has also condemned the Israeli military operation, saying it contradicts “regional and international efforts to restore stability and calm in the occupied Palestinian territories and the region”.
The UAE MFA stressed in a statement on Friday “the importance of providing full protection to civilians according to international law and treaties”, urging the international community “to fulfil their responsibilities to end the continuous Israeli violations”.
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s “continuous attack on Jenin” and urged the international community and the Security Council to stop “these violations” and “provide protection for the Palestinian people”.
Jordan also strongly condemned the Jenin operation and stressed “the need for the international community to move to compel Israel to respect international humanitarian law and stop the escalation in the occupied West Bank and its cities in a way that ensures calm in the occupied Palestinian territories”.
Gaza ceasefire in effect
The attacks on Jenin coincide with a fragile ceasefire and captive exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas maintains that the truce is still in effect despite Israeli army violations.
The group’s leader in the West Bank, Zaher Jabarin, told The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on Friday that they will hand over the names of four captives and receive a list of names of Palestinian prisoners to be freed.
He added that in two weeks, stage two of the ceasefire will start and should result in a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as well as a full truce.
Jabarin slammed Israel’s assault on the West Bank, calling people there “defenceless”.
Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump said the Gaza ceasefire “should hold” this week, warning there “will be a lot of problems” if it does not.
Concerns have mounted in recent days, after an Israeli tank killed two Palestinians on Thursday, west of Rafah, despite a ceasefire being agreed.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 47,283 Palestinians and wounded at least 111,472 others since 7 October 2023, and levelled entire neighbourhoods.
