Israel brings to a close two-day operation in Jenin refugee camp

The biggest operation in years in the West Bank, employed hundreds of troops as well as drone strikes and bulldozers.

Israeli soldiers take aim in the centre of Hebron on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

Israel’s army on Wednesday declared the end of a two-day operation in the Jenin area of the West Bank during which 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed.

“The operation is officially over and the soldiers have left the Jenin area,” a military spokeswoman said.

The Israeli military launched the raid on the Jenin refugee camp early on Monday under the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The raid, Israel’s biggest military operation in years in the West Bank, employed hundreds of troops as well as drone strikes and army bulldozers that ripped up streets.

Israeli forces had started to withdraw from the Jenin area late Tuesday. Israel later launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip after intercepting five rockets fired at Israel from the blockaded Palestinian territory. A Palestinian security source said the attack hit a military site of the militant group Hamas in northern Gaza but caused no injuries.

During the raid on the Jenin camp in the West Bank, the army said it had uncovered militant hideouts, arms depots and an underground shaft used to store explosives. Its forces had dismantled six explosives manufacturing facilities and three operational situation rooms in Jenin, and confiscated large quantities of weapons.

“The weapons were located in hideouts, a mosque, pits concealed in civilian areas, operational situation rooms, and in vehicles,” it said.

The Palestinian health ministry said the large-scale Israeli army assault on Jenin camp had killed 12 Palestinians. “In the last five years, this is the worst raid,” said Qasem Benighader, a nurse at a hospital morgue.

The Israeli army said one soldier was killed by “live fire” late on Tuesday.

The Palestinian foreign ministry labelled the escalation “open war against the people of Jenin”. Doctors Without Borders also condemned Israeli forces for firing teargas inside Khalil Suleiman hospital in Jenin, calling it “unacceptable”.

Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila even accused the army of shooting at Palestinians in a courtyard of the Jenin public hospital, wounding three, two of them seriously. He added that forces had also stormed the Ibn Sina hospital.

The Israeli army said there were reports on social media regarding fire by soldiers towards a hospital. “The reports are not currently known to security forces,” it said, adding that “terrorist organisations have exploited civilian areas as a hideout”.

Shops in Jenin were shut amid a general strike and the near-empty streets littered with debris and burned roadblocks. “The most dangerous is what happened inside the camp, where there is no electricity, no water, and no roads for those who need to go to hospital,” Jenin mayor Nidal Abu Saleh said.

Around 3000 people had fled their homes in the refugee camp since the assault commenced.

Israel has held the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967. Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is now home to around 490,000 Israelis.

AFP