▲ On the 24th (local time), Israeli military equipment is moving in Jenin, West Bank.
As Israel’s ‘military operation’ in the West Bank shows signs of extending, suspicions are growing that it might be trying to forcibly displace residents as it did in the Gaza Strip.
According to Reuters on the 24th (local time), the activities of Israeli bulldozers have been detected in Jenin, northern West Bank.
At least 12 bulldozers are reported to be demolishing houses or infrastructure and transforming narrow alleyways into wide roads, according to Jenin local authorities.
Israeli army engineers have also been seen preparing for a long-term stay by installing water tanks and generators on a site measuring about one acre (approximately 4,000 square meters).
Jenin has been a place densely populated by descendants of Palestinian refugees expelled from Israel and has also been a base for armed struggle.
Since the Israeli military launched a new military operation (Operation Iron Wall) in the West Bank after a 6-week ceasefire with Hamas, a Palestinian militant faction, in the Gaza Strip on the 19th of last month, Jenin has been one of the primary attack targets.
Reuters reported that the scale of Israel’s military operations in the West Bank over the past month is the largest in 20 years since the Second Intifada (anti-Israeli uprising) in the early 2000s.
During this period, Israel deployed drones and helicopters in the West Bank, and on the 23rd, Israeli tanks entered the West Bank for the first time in 23 years since 2002.
As a result, a significant number of residents have left major strongholds, including Jenin.
It is estimated that at least 40,000 refugees have been displaced in just two areas: Tulkarem and Jenin in northern West Bank.
Israel has also closed the East Jerusalem headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and halted its activities in Jenin.
Reuters pointed out that the pattern of operations by the Israeli military “recalls the tactics applied in the Gaza Strip.”
The surface reason is to target terrorist organizations and infrastructure, but it’s suspected that the real intention is a ‘scorched earth’ policy to permanently displace residents.
Michael Milstein, a former Israeli intelligence officer, stated, “I don’t know what the grand strategy is, but there is no doubt that the scale of (the operation) is unprecedented.”
Hassan Al-Khatib, 85, who abandoned his home in Jenin with 20 children and grandchildren, said, “Israel wants to erase the existence of refugees from people’s memories.”
Reuters also reported that many Palestinian residents are recalling former U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘Gaza plan.’
There is suspicion that Israeli hardliners who welcomed Trump’s plan to relocate Gaza residents and transform the area into a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ under U.S. control are eyeing the annexation of the West Bank.
Under international law, the Jordan Valley West Bank is land where the Palestinian Authority (PA) holds administrative control, but Israel has occupied it since winning the Third Middle East War in 1967.
Since then, Jewish settlements have been constructed, and 500,000 Israelis have relocated to the West Bank.
(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)