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Hundreds of Israeli troops stormed the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, carrying out a sweeping military operation, in which 15 Palestinians were killed. This offensive is the largest ever in 20 years, said the IDF. But what is the reason for the raids? read more
 "What’s the West Bank where Israel has launched a massive raid? Why does the timing matter?")
Palestinian children line up on the stairway of a house, standing amid the destruction caused by an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. AFP
After Gaza, is it now the West Bank? That’s the question many are asking after hundreds of Israeli troops backed by drones and armoured vehicles carried out massive raids in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday (August 28).
While Israel has conducted near-daily raids in the West Bank in the months since Hamas’ attack last October, the Wednesday operation is the largest in more than 20 years when Israeli soldiers carried out Operation Defensive Shield during the Second Intifada.
At last count, at least 10 people have been killed and almost two dozen have been injured, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, an emergency service. This number increased to 15 on Thursday with Israeli officials confirmed the death of five other Palestinian fighters.
As the operations continue in the West Bank, we take a closer look at this area and why it matters.
What is the West Bank?
The West Bank is land to Israel’s east. As its name suggests, it lies on the West Bank of the River Jordan and is bordered by Israel to its north, west and south. It borders Jerusalem – which houses sites sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews and is a flashpoint for internal violence.
As per varying records, between two and three million Palestinians live in the West Bank. Moreover, it is also home to some 430,000 Israeli Jews who live in 132 settlements (and 124 smaller “outposts”) built under Israel’s occupation.
These settlements and outposts are a result of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank which resulted from the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel captured the West Bank, which measures 5,628 square kilometres when it fought and defeated Egypt, Syria, and Jordan.
Since then, it has controlled the area, which many Jews consider to be the heartland of the ancient Jewish state. It’s home to many Jewish holy sites, like the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, that Jews were previously cut off from.
What’s the status of these settlements?
In recent times, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has made the construction of ‘settlements’ in the West Bank a top priority. In June, Netanyahu’s office announced plans to build 1,000 new homes for the Eli settlement in West Bank.
However, in July, the United Nations’ top court — the International Court of Justice — held that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is against international law. The top court said that the Jewish nation should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and end its “illegal” occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible. Interestingly, while the court’s advisory opinion is not legally binding, it still carries significant political weight. It marks the first time the ICJ has delivered a position on the legality of the 57-year occupation.
What raids now?
On Wednesday, the Israeli military launched raids in several areas of the West Bank, carrying out mass arrests, engaging in gun battles and killing at least 10 Palestinians.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the actions in West Bank were part of a large counter-terror operation in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem in the north of the West Bank. It said that the operation was carried out in coordination with Israel Border Police forces and the internal security service and that it’s in the “first phases,” IDF spokesman Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said Wednesday.
News agency AFP reported that armoured columns entered two refugee camps, in Tulkarem and Tubas, as well as Jenin and gunfire and explosions were heard into the evening. People from within these regions were quoted as saying that all they could hear during the day was the sound of gunfire and bulldozers.
Tulkarem municipal worker Hakim Abu Safiyeh said Israeli forces “attacked the infrastructure, in particular in the city of Tulkarem and the Nur Shams camp” and “destroyed” water and sewage systems.
In many areas, Israeli bulldozers could be seen digging up asphalt from the streets, with the army saying it was looking for roadside bombs.
Israeli authorities said their forces also launched air raids in the area of Al-Faraa refugee camp, a short distance away from Jenin, in which Israeli authorities said four other armed militants were killed.
Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the area and blocked off exit and entry points, as well as access to hospitals, The Associated Press reported. The staff at the hospital was later allowed to move freely after having faced “severe restrictions” by Israeli forces, according to Medical Aid for Palestinians.
The governor of Jenin was quoted as saying that these raids were “unusually fierce”, resulting in “people living in a state of terror and anxiety.”
People huddled inside their homes, fearing sniper action, with one of them being quoted as telling the New York Times, “No one knows what is happening. Will it last days or hours?”
The operation has entered its second day on Thursday, with IDF saying that it has killed five Palestinians in Tulkarm. The IDF added that one of those killed was involved in a shooting attack on an Israeli civilian in June. The military described the four others who reportedly hid inside a mosque as “terrorists”.
Why the raids now though?
But what prompted the IDF to carry out such massive raids on Wednesday? According to Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the operation was aimed at “thwarting Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructure,” claiming that Iran was working to establish an “eastern front” against Israel.
“We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required,” he wrote on social media. “This is a war for all terms and purposes and we must win it.”
Later, IDF spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said that Israel had identified “a systematic strategy in Iran” of smuggling weapons and explosives into the West Bank. “Specifically, about Jenin and Tulkarm, we’ve seen over 150 shooting and explosive attacks originated from these areas alone over the past year.”
Justifying its raids, the IDF said that there was an uptick in Palestinian violence against Israelis, citing the deaths of 30 Israelis in 2023. It added that there has also been an increase in attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians, including one this month, when a 23-year-old Palestinian was killed by a group of settlers in the northern West Bank town of Jit.
How the world has reacted to the raids?
Israel’s raids in the West Bank and the consequent killing of 10 people has led to outrage and condemnation.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the raids as a “serious escalation” and called on the US to intervene.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the Israeli operations took place “in close proximity to four hospitals” and at least some “have been surrounded”, affecting the movement of medical teams. Guterres “calls for an immediate cessation of these operations,” a later statement from his office said.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also noted that Israel’s major military incursion into the occupied West Bank must not be “the premises of a war extension from Gaza” and a repeat of the “full-scale destruction” seen in the Palestinian enclave.
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·