It has been one week since Israel launched its largest offensive in the occupied West Bank since the Second Intifada in 2002. The operation, which began on Tuesday, August 27, has involved hundreds of ground soldiers, warplanes, drones, bulldozers, and snipers targeting multiple cities including Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas, Hebron, Nablus, and Ramallah.
This morning, September 3, Israeli forces expanded their raids across the West Bank. A drone attack on the Tulkarem refugee camp resulted in casualties, while troops stormed a university in Ramallah, seizing “properties and publications” related to student activities. Arrests were made in Hebron, and Israeli forces opened fire in Qalqilya, according to Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the Jenin Battalion of al-Quds Brigades claims its fighters are actively confronting Israeli forces in Jenin, where raids over the past week have caused at least 18 deaths and significant destruction.
Shatha Sabagh, a resident of Jenin Camp, told Middle East Eye that this is the largest raid she has seen in years, with Israeli soldiers occupying buildings, deploying snipers, and shooting at anyone who moved. She reported that the city is paralyzed, with residents unable to bury the dead due to the military siege.
Since last night, Israeli forces have arrested 22 Palestinians, as reported by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club.
The death toll from the week-long military operation has risen to at least 30, according to Al Jazeera.
Fighting terror vs. ethnic cleansing
Israel has launched a military operation in the occupied West Bank with the stated aim of crushing Palestinian armed resistance groups. The Israeli military described the Palestinians killed so far as “armed terrorists who posed a threat to security forces” and reported arresting additional “wanted suspects” in Jenin and Tulkarem.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, called for an evacuation of Palestinians from the West Bank in a post on X on August 28:
“We must deal with the threat in the West Bank as we are doing in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever other steps are required. This is a war for everything, and we must win it,” Katz wrote.
He added that the expanded operation, carried out in Jenin and Tulkarem, was aimed at “thwarting Islamic-Iranian terror infrastructure” in those areas.
Middle East analyst Omar Baddar told Al Jazeera that Israel’s incursion appears to be part of a long-standing strategy to “ethnically cleanse” Palestinian territory, a goal they have pursued in the West Bank for a “very, very long time.”
In response to the surge in deadly attacks on Palestinians and land seizures, the United States issued new sanctions against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. On August 28, sanctions targeted Hashomer Yosh, a volunteer group protecting Israeli farmers in the West Bank, and Yitzhak Levi Filant, the civilian security coordinator for the Yitzhar settlement south of Nablus.
“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security, and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“It is critical that the Government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank,” he continued.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called for an immediate end to Israel’s operation and condemned the loss of lives, including children.
Year-long daily raids on the West Bank
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza last year, daily Israeli army raids have become commonplace in West Bank towns and villages. According to Palestinian health officials, these raids have resulted in the deaths of at least 673 Palestinians, including 148 children, and injuries to more than 5,400.
During this period, Israeli soldiers have arrested at least 10,300 Palestinians, with 3,432 held in military prisons without charge under “administrative detention,” according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs.
The United Nations reports that at least 1,432 Palestinian homes have been demolished, displacing 3,270 Palestinians.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, has described the Israeli operation as “an act of war,” according to Al Jazeera.
Urgent international help needed
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a US-based advocacy group, has criticized Washington for “facilitating” Israel’s “genocidal violence” against Palestinians. They have called for an urgent halt to US weapons sales to Israel amid its major military operation from Gaza to the West Bank.
“This massive and coordinated invasion is a direct result of our government’s continual enabling and co-signing of the Israeli government’s genocidal actions across all of occupied Palestine,” JVP said in a series of social media posts.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al-Haq, and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights have warned of escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and the use of tactics by Israeli forces similar to those seen in Gaza.
In a joint statement, the rights groups called on the international community to “immediately intervene and implement countermeasures against Israel as required by international law,” according to Al Jazeera.