For the first time since the Second Intifada, Israeli occupation tanks began advancing towards the city of Jenin, while Defense Minister Yisrael Katz instructed the army to prepare for a “long stay” in the targeted camps in the West Bank.
At the same time, the occupation army imposed a curfew in the town of Qabatiya in the Jenin Governorate for 48 hours, according to what the Palestinian News Agency reported from Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rab.
This comes within the framework of the extensive military operations carried out by the occupation army in the northern West Bank for the second month in a row, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of dozens of Palestinians, the displacement of tens of thousands, and the destruction of homes and infrastructure on a large scale.
The Israeli Walla website said that tank movements were monitored around the city of Jenin. The occupation forces also stormed the town of Yamoun, west of the city of Jenin, according to Palestinian media.
Clashes erupted between Palestinians and the occupation forces near the entrance to the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin.
The occupation army has been targeting Jenin and its camp with a large-scale attack since January 21.
At the same time, the occupation forces have increased their deployment in the center of Tulkarm, which has been under Israeli attack for the 28th day.
The Israeli Minister of Defense said that he had instructed the army to prepare for a “long stay” in the targeted camps in the West Bank.
Katz added that he would not allow the Palestinians to return to the camps, nor for what he called terrorism to return and grow, noting that the army is expanding its operation in the northern West Bank, and has begun work in the town of Qabatiya.
The Israeli minister said that 40,000 Palestinians have so far left the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, and that they are now empty of residents, and the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has stopped.
Earlier, the occupation’s military spokesman said that the army would expand its operations in the northern West Bank.
He explained that a tank unit will operate inside Jenin as part of the offensive operation, for the first time since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. He added that forces from the Nahal Brigade and the Duvdevan Unit have begun operating in villages in the Jenin and Tulkarm areas.
