The West Bank has been experiencing a months-long escalation in Israeli military operations, reaching its peak in recent weeks following the large-scale raid on Jenin and the Jenin Refugee Camp.
More than 20 days into the offensive, Israeli forces have employed a range of military tactics, including airstrikes, tank deployments, and special forces operations, in what appears to be an intensifying campaign against the Palestinian presence in the territory.
Since launching “Operation Iron Wall” in Jenin on 20 January, the Israeli military has significantly expanded its operations across the West Bank, targeting cities and villages such as Tubas, Tulkarm, and Nablus.
The widening military campaign has raised pressing questions about the trajectory of the conflict, with growing concerns that the situation in the West Bank could spiral into a full-scale war, potentially surpassing the devastation witnessed in Gaza.
For more than three weeks, Israel has conducted extensive air and ground assaults, using drones, heavy artillery, and special forces to carry out operations that have severely impacted Palestinian communities.
The offensive began in Jenin, where intense bombardments targeted residential neighbourhoods, leaving many homes in ruins. Israeli forces have also conducted widespread raids on refugee camps, arrested numerous Palestinians, and systematically destroyed infrastructure.
Israeli military operations have involved relentless drone strikes, heavy shelling, and tank fire, with densely populated areas bearing the brunt of the attacks. Reports from the ground indicate that civilian homes are being indiscriminately targeted, resulting in widespread destruction and making it increasingly difficult for residents to seek safety or receive medical assistance.
Meanwhile, strict military sieges have further impeded humanitarian aid efforts, preventing medical teams from reaching the wounded.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the ongoing Israeli offensive has left entire neighbourhoods in Jenin devastated and has destroyed hundreds of homes across the northern West Bank. Since the start of the year, 70 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including 38 in Jenin, 15 in Tubas, six in Nablus, five in Tulkarm, three in Hebron, and two in Jerusalem.
Among them, at least 25 were killed during “Operation Iron Wall.”
As the offensive in Jenin continues, large-scale displacement has been reported, with thousands of Palestinians forced to flee their homes. The Palestinian government has converted schools and other facilities into emergency shelters, as Israeli forces have reportedly ordered mass evacuations under the threat of violence.
Witnesses describe scenes of widespread destruction, with entire residential blocks being demolished, raising fears that Israel is systematically attempting to forcibly displace Jenin’s refugee population.
Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi, reporting from Jenin, described the Israeli incursion as an ongoing assault marked by explosions, demolitions, and extensive ground operations.
“The Israeli Occupation forces have destroyed every aspect of life in the Refugee Camp,”Samoudi said, adding that Israeli troops continue to bring in reinforcements, deploy snipers across rooftops, and enforce a suffocating siege on Jenin. He called for the city to be declared a disaster zone, citing the large-scale destruction and ongoing raids.
According to Samoudi, Israeli forces have completely paralysed life in Jenin, targeting entire neighbourhoods with raids, arrests, and home demolitions in surrounding villages. He further reported that the Israeli Army has imposed a siege on the Jenin government Hospital, restricting access and forcing Palestinians to reach the facility on foot, often under the threat of sniper fire.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have expanded military operations into other areas of the northern West Bank, particularly Tubas and Tulkarm, where additional displacement has been reported. Journalist Ma’therBaddo, reporting from Tulkarm, said the Israeli Army has intensified its attacks on the city’s refugee camps, including Tulkarm and Nur Shams.
She described a worsening humanitarian situation, with Israeli forces forcibly evacuating most residents from the Nur Shams Camp and killing three civilians, including a pregnant woman and another female resident.
“The situation in the Jenin Refugee Camp is dire,”Baddo said. “People are without medical care, without water or electricity, and under constant threat from Israeli snipers, who are targeting everything in sight.”
Governor of TulkarmAbdullah Kamil stated that the Israeli military’s assault on the northern West Bank Governorate has been ongoing for an extended period, with the latest escalation being only the most recent in a series of attacks.
In an interview withAl-Ahram Weekly, Kamil emphasised that both Tulkarm and its refugee camp have faced the systematic destruction of infrastructure and residential areas.
According to Kamil, more than 85 per cent of the Tulkarm Refugee Camp’s residents have been forcibly displaced due to the offensive, before the military expanded its operations into the nearby Nur Shams Refugee Camp.
Kamil also condemned what he described as a war crime committed by Israeli forces against 23-year-old Sundus Shalabi, who was eight months pregnant. He reported that Shalabi bled for six and a half hours without medical assistance as Israeli forces blocked paramedics from reaching her for five hours and then delayed an ambulance’s entry to the hospital for an additional 90 minutes.
Both Shalabi and her unborn child died due to what Kamil called Israel’s “inhumane siege.”
As the humanitarian crisis worsens, the Tulkarm Governorate has established a“Dignity Committee for Relief and Shelter” comprising government agencies, civil society organisations, and local volunteers. The initiative aims to provide displaced families with essential supplies, including food, water, blankets, and infant formula.
Several emergency shelters have been set up, while authorities continue to track displaced persons who have sought refuge with relatives.
POLITICAL FRONT: On the political front, senior Palestinian officials have called for greater international pressure on Israel to halt the military escalation and prevent further displacement of Palestinian civilians.
Mahmoud Al-Aloul, deputy leader of the ruling Palestinian Fatah Movement, urged the international powers to take a stronger stance against Israel’s actions, particularly what he described as efforts to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homeland.
He stressed the importance of an international consensus against these policies and called for global pressure on both Washington and Tel Aviv to bring an end to the occupation.
Al-Aloul also called for Palestinian unity in the face of what he described as an existential threat, emphasising that national cohesion is the most effective means of thwarting Israeli efforts to forcibly remove Palestinians from their land.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), warned that Israel’s military campaign in the West Bank is “wider and more dangerous” than previous offensives in Gaza. He claimed that the Israeli government, led by far-right politicians, is actively implementing a “decisive plan” to reshape the region’s political landscape spearheaded by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
According to Majdalani, the plan revolves around three key objectives: annexing the West Bank; the forcible transfer of the Palestinians; and crushing any resistance. He
accused the Israeli government of systematically enacting this vision since taking office in 2022, arguing that the ongoing military operations in the West Bank are not merely a repetition of past conflicts in Gaza but rather an “expanded and more extreme” effort to create an exclusively Jewish entity in what Israeli right-wing leaders refer to as “Judea and Samaria.”
Majdalaniargued that Israel’s efforts to force the Palestinians out of the territory are not a new policy but a longstanding goal of Israel’s far-right leadership.
He said that the idea of mass displacement was initiated by Israel, not the United States, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s framing of it as an American initiative in Gaza. He stated that Israel’s then-minister of Strategic Affairs directly requested the forced transfer of large numbers of Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt during the first week of Trump’s presidency.
The justification given, according to Majdalani, was that such a move would ensure Israel’s long-term security and stability.
He said that Trump’s proposal to halt hostilities in Gaza was in reality a strategic manoeuvreaimed at facilitating the forced displacement of up to half the population of the enclave. This, he argued, was part of a broader deal to compensate Israel for agreeing to a ceasefire while appeasing extremist factions within the Israeli government and securing his political standing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had expanded on this proposal during his recent visit to Washington, he said adding two key components: the complete displacement of Gaza’s population and turning Gaza into an investment hub.
Majdalani suggested that Trump’s rhetoric about “purchasing Gaza” reflected an extreme vision of transforming the besieged enclave into a commercial asset rather than a home for its Palestinian residents.
Turning to the situation in the Occupied West Bank, Majdalani emphasised that clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces had been escalating long before the events of 7 October 2023. He accused Israel’s right-wing government of deliberately provoking confrontations with the Palestinian Authority (PA) as part of a broader plan to justify further military action.
Since taking office, Netanyahu’s government had been attempting to recreate a scenario similar to Israel’s 2002 Operation Defensive Shield, when the Israeli military launched a large-scale offensive in the West Bank, he said.
According to Majdalani, Israel’s current leadership has sought to provoke the Palestinian security forces into armed confrontations, using targeted assassinations and attacks on Palestinian officers to escalate tensions.
Israel’s ultimate goal is to entangle the PA in a military conflict in the West Bank, thereby justifying a full-scale offensive and further displacement of Palestinians, he said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 13 February, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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