Israeli military launches operation in West Bank city of Jenin

Israeli military launches operation in West Bank city of Jenin

WEST BANK
Israeli military launches operation in West Bank city of Jenin

An Israeli strike on a built-up refugee camp in the occupied West Bank has killed two people, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday .

The Israeli military said in a statement that “forces have initiated a counterterrorism operation” in the area. The identity of those killed in the Jenin refugee camp, where militants are active, was not immediately clear.

The operation came after at least 21 Palestinians sustained injuries late on Jan. 20 as Israeli settlers attacked two Palestinian towns near the city of Qalqilya, northern West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams treated those injured by the settlers' attacks in the towns of Jinsafut and Al-Fanduq.

The victims suffered bruises as they were beaten by the settlers and also suffered from teargas inhalation fired by the Israeli forces, the humanitarian group said.

The settlers set fire to three homes, a nursery, a carpentry workshop and also torched several vehicles owned by Palestinians.

U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled an executive order that enabled sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Trump revoked his predecessor Joe Biden's executive order from February 2024, which paved the way for the designation of settlers and groups accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Settlers in the territory celebrated the incoming Trump administration, believing it will take a more favorable approach to illegal settlements. During his first term, Trump took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the U.S. Embassy there, and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

The Palestinian Authority said on Trump's lifting of sanctions on Israeli settlers would incite violence against Palestinians.