Israeli security forces seen during a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, August 31, 2024. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90
The Israel Defense Forces withdrew its troops from the city of Jenin and its nearby camp on Thursday, after the longest continuous Israeli operation in a Palestinian town in Judea and Samaria since 2002’s Operation Protective Edge.
Over the past 10 days, Israeli forces have eliminated 36 terrorists and arrested 46 wanted individuals as part of the ongoing Operation “Summer Camps,” aimed at countering the rise in terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank.
“We will soon return to Jenin and the rest of the centers – the fight against terrorism in northern Samaria and in the whole area will not stop,” a military source told Army Radio.
בשבוע וחצי האחרונים, כוחות צה״ל, שב״כ, ומג״ב פועלים במרחב ג׳נין שבחטיבת מנשה.
עד כה, חוסלו בג׳נין 14 מחבלים, נעצרו מעל ל-30 חשודים, הושמדו כ-30 מטענים שהוטמנו בצירים, ובוצעו ארבע תקיפות אוויריות במרחב>> pic.twitter.com/p8chgkTNI6
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 6, 2024
The operation was carried out with a scope and intensity not seen in the region since the days of the Second Intifada, and included the once-rare use of airstrikes to eliminate terrorists.
Forces equivalent to two whole brigades have conducted raids in towns across northern Samaria, including Jenin, the Nur a-Shams camp, Tulkarem, Tubas and the al-Fara’ah camp.
“For the past week and a half, the IDF, Shin Bet, and Border Police forces have been operating in the Jenin region,” the IDF stated on Friday morning.
“So far, 14 terrorists have been killed in Jenin, over 30 suspects have been arrested, about 30 explosives planted on roads have been destroyed, and four airstrikes have been carried out in the area. In addition, many terrorist infrastructures were destroyed, including an underground weapons stockpile located under the mosque and a laboratory for the production of explosives.”
The IDF statement noted specifically that the commander of the local Hamas branch in Jenin, “who directed shooting and explosive attacks in the Jenin area and was responsible for advancing in Judea and Samaria,” was killed.
On Thursday evening, the Israeli military released footage of one of the numerous drone strikes during the operation, targeting a terror squad throwing explosive charges at Israeli soldiers.
במהלך המבצע בשבועיים האחרונים ביהודה ושומרון והבקעה והעמקים, כוחות חיל האוויר פועלים במרחב ומעניקים סיוע צמוד לכוחות הקרקעיים.
הכוחות האוויריים מהווים מכפיל כוח משמעותי ועומדים עד כה על למעלה מ-300 שעות טיסה במרחב>> pic.twitter.com/c1v1ej6XRb— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 5, 2024
Over 20 of the approximately 36 terrorists killed during Operation Summer Camps were eliminated via airstrikes, highlighting the dramatic escalation of the fighting in Judea and Samaria.
On Thursday, the IDF reported that an airstrike in the town of Tubas killed Muhammad Zubeidi, the son of arch-terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, a Palestinian hero from the Second Intifada and a former senior Fatah terrorist who broke out of an Israeli prison three years ago.
He was recaptured after a two-week manhunt.
