Although Tel Aviv called its operation in Jenin and Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday a “counterterrorism operation to thwart terror”, all signs testify to it being a major Israeli operation, with at least four Palestinian cities being targeted at the same time — Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and Tubas.
This has been the first time several Palestinian cities in the West Bank have been targeted by the Israeli military simultaneously since the second intifada — a major Palestinian uprising from 2000 to 2005.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli Defense Forces have been “operating with full force since last night in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps to dismantle Iranian-Islamic terror infrastructures established there”.
He said that Israel had to deal with the threat in the West Bank just as it dealt with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, and will take “whatever steps are required”. Tel Aviv has already called for the evacuation of Palestinian residents in relevant cities of the West Bank.
Israel also attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on the same day, three days after the two sides ended a short but intense conflict, as well as bombing central Gaza.
These are undoubtedly grave provocations to Iran, which has so far restrained from taking any action against Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’ political leader in Teheran for the sake of Gaza cease-fire talks that are underway.
Gaza cease-fire talks reportedly resumed in Doha, capital of Qatar, on Wednesday attended by Israeli, United States, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators, after they failed to produce a temporary Gaza cease-fire deal in Cairo last week. There is still a big gap to be bridged between the two hostile parties as Tel Aviv insists on having control of Gaza’s Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors to consolidate Israel’s military gains in Gaza since Oct 7, while Hamas insists on Israel’s full withdrawal from the enclave.
Israel’s escalating policy, the destruction of cities, the killing of citizens, detentions and colonization, will not bring security and stability to anyone, said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority, urging the United States to intervene immediately and force the Israeli authorities to stop their comprehensive war on the Palestinian people.
It is the US that has been providing Israel with military, financial and intelligence supports throughout the crisis. It is thus well aware of Israel’s latest West Bank moves. But the US still gave Tel Aviv the green light to do it, just as it must have done for the assassination of the Hamas leader last month.
The US pretends to be an active peace broker. Its negotiators have taken part in or hosted almost all major Gaza cease-fire talks till now, including those in Cairo last week and the ongoing one in Doha. So the question is how many lives will be lost and how much suffering will it cost for the US to stop paying lip service to peace.