2025 Israeli raid on Jenin

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Contents

Iron Wall
Part of the Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Israel–Hamas war and the Palestinian Authority–West Bank militias conflict
Date21 January 2025 – present
Location
Jenin and surrounding towns, [1] West Bank, Palestine
Result Ongoing
Belligerents

Flag of Israel.svg  Israel

Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestinian Authority 		InfoboxPIJ.svg  Palestinian Islamic Jihad
Infobox al-Aqsa.png  Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg  Hamas
Youth of Revenge and Liberation [2]
Supported by:
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran [3] [4]
Units involved
 InfoboxPIJ.svg Infobox al-Aqsa.png Flag of al-Qassam Brigades.svg Jenin Brigades [a]
Casualties and losses

4 Israeli soldiers injured [11] [12]
Per the Jenin Brigades:
1 vehicle destroyed [13]

Per the PA:
Several security services personnel killed (by the IDF) [b] 		Per the IDF:
15 militants killed [18]
3+ Palestinian civilians killed and 1 Palestinian civilian injured [19] [20] [21]

On 21 January 2025, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a major raid into Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. [19] [22] The Israeli operation, titled "Iron Wall", is targeting the Jenin Brigades, a local Palestinian militia, [22] and is expected to last several days. [23] The IDF stated that the aims of the operation are to preserve its "freedom of action” in the West Bank, to neutralize militant infrastructure, and to eliminate imminent threats. [23] [24] For the IDF, the fighting marks a shift in military focus to the West Bank and away from the Gaza Strip, where a ceasefire that halted the Gaza war was implemented on 19 January 2025. [5]

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation is an action against the "Iranian axis", referring to the Iranian support of West Bank militants, and Israeli far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said it marks the start of a campaign to protect Israeli settlements in the occupied region. [3] Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said it marks a shift in the IDF's security plan in the West Bank and was “the first lesson from the method of repeated raids in Gaza.” [25]

Palestinian Authority (PA) [c] forces conducting their own operation in Jenin withdrew from their positions as the IDF began its raid in the city. [22] [3] [15] The IDF likely felt that the PA's actions against militants were insufficient and chose to launch its own incursion. [24] Nonetheless, PA forces reportedly returned to Jenin the next day to participate in the raid, in an unprecedented collaboration with the IDF. [7]

Background

The Israeli operation followed several related developments in the region. On 19 January, the Gaza war ceasefire was implemented, halting fighting in the Gaza Strip. On 20 January, American president Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time and later issued an executive order rescinding sanctions against some Israeli settlers and settler groups accused of anti-Palestinian violence in the West Bank. That same day, a mob of Israeli settlers raided several Palestinian towns in protest against the Gaza ceasefire, until being dispersed by the IDF. [26]

In Jenin specifically, the security services of the PA had been conducting an operation against the Jenin Brigades since December 2024. Both sides signed a truce on 17 January 2025, but the deal fell through and fighting resumed two days later. [27] [28] [29] The IDF initiated its raid due to the PA's operation eventually being deemed insufficient, according to The Jerusalem Post. [24]

Timeline

21 January

The raid began with drone strikes on militant infrastructure, and large numbers of IDF troops, including special forces, as well as Shin Bet agents and Border Police officers were deployed into Jenin. [23] Palestinian sources also reported the participation of Israeli warplanes and armored vehicles, including bulldozers. [19]

Palestinian Authority forces withdrew from their positions in Jenin as the IDF entered the city. [22] [3] [15] According to the PA, the Israeli operation caught them by surprise and members of its forces were killed by Israeli fire. [15] According to Israel, however, the PA was informed of the decision to enter Jenin beforehand, and PA forces withdrew to allow the IDF to proceed with their raid. [14]

The IDF encircled Al-Amal, a local private hospital. [26]

22 January

According to the mayor of Jenin, Israeli forces released as many as 600 people that had been detained overnight inside the Jenin Governmental Hospital. [30]

Palestinian Authority forces stormed the Al-Razi hospital and arrested a man said to be a Jenin Brigades militant, marking the first ever time that PA forces have participated in an Israeli raid in the West Bank. [7]

In Burqin, near Jenin, Israeli forces killed two militants that had carried out an attack against Israelis earlier in the month. [1]

23 January

Hundreds of Palestinians from the Jenin camp began leaving their homes after Israeli forces issued an evacuation order. [31]

PA forces arrested the Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed al-Atrash, who was attempting to cover the Israeli raid on Jenin. [32]

24 January

Israeli forces blocked four main entrances to Jenin with earth mounds, preventing entry and exit, and set fire to residences in the Jenin refugee camp. In Yabad, west of Jenin, PA forces arrested and beat up a number of militants. [16]

26 January

The IDF reported it had destroyed a bomb-making laboratory in Jenin. [33]

Reactions

Analysis

IDF reservist Colonel Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, said that the events in Jenin are just another example of the typical IDF raid in the West Bank that lasts several days and ends with a withdrawal. Milshtein argues this type of raid has become repeated and ineffective, only merely damaging militant infrastructure, and that a similar outcome in Jenin can be expected. [38]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Like most of the other Palestinian militias in the West Bank, [8] the Jenin Brigades are semi-autonomous and "cross-factional", simultaneously shared among the Al-Quds Brigades of PIJ, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and the Al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas. [9] [10]
  2. ↑ While Israel claims its operation was launched with the knowledge and coordination of the PA, [14] the PA claims the operation caught them by surprise and that members of their security services were killed by the IDF. [15] Nonetheless, a day after the IDF operation began, PA forces began fighting militants alongside the IDF. [7] [16] [17]
  3. ↑ The PA autonomously governs the West Bank's Palestinian enclaves and is also in conflict with local militias.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenin refugee camp</span> Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Gaza–Israel clashes</span> 2022 conflict between Israel and Gaza

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The Jenin Brigades, or Jenin Battalion, is a Palestinian militant group in the West Bank. It was founded in Jenin in 2021 by Jamil Al-Amouri, a militant of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The organization is based in the Jenin refugee camp in the North of the West Bank. Like most other West Bank militias, the Jenin Brigades are an umbrella formation affiliated with PIJ, Hamas, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israeli incursions in the West Bank (2023–present)</span> Series of Israeli military engagements in the occupied West Bank

During the Israel–Hamas war, Israeli forces have carried out multiple ground incursions, occasionally accompanied by airstrikes, into several Palestinian cities and refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including Jenin and Tulkarm. The Israeli incursions have led to clashes with Palestinian militants. 806 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the conflict began, including 143 children. The United Nations recorded more than 800 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians between October 2023 and May 2024. Israel has arrested an estimated 10,000 West Bank Palestinians between 7 October 2023 and August 2024. On 15 December, Doctors Without Borders reported 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in recorded history.

Events in the year 2024 in Palestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Israeli military operation in the West Bank</span>

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Events of the year 2025 in Israel.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, various local Palestinian militias have been engaged in armed clashes with the Palestinian Authority (PA), the self-governing administration of the region's Palestinian enclaves. The conflict is a result of the widespread unpopularity of the PA among Palestinians and the common perception that it is a collaborationist body subservient to Israel, the occupying power. In turn, the PA accuses militants of being "bandits" and agents of instability.

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On 5 December 2024, the Palestinian Authority (PA) began a large-scale operation in the West Bank city of Jenin against the Jenin Brigades, a local Palestinian militia. The PA called it "Operation Protect the Homeland" and said it was launched in order to "eradicate sedition and chaos" in the West Bank, portraying militants as agents of instability that are indirectly aiding the Israeli far-right, which has sought to weaken the PA.

References

  1. 1 2 "Israel's security chief says focus switching to West Bank". BBC. 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  2. ↑ https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-january-28-2025
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Israel launches 'significant' military operation in West Bank, at least eight Palestinians killed". Reuters. 21 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "Why Is Israel Targeting Jenin, in the West Bank?". The New York Times. 2025-01-25.
  5. 1 2 3 Ben Kimon, Elisha (2025-01-24). "'Cant defeat terror with defense': West Bank OP commanders say". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  6. ↑ "IDF: Three soldiers wounded, one seriously, in ongoing counter-terrorism operation in Jenin area". The Times of Israel. 25 January 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Israeli army and Palestinian Authority besiege and raid Jenin hospitals". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  8. ↑ "The Resurgence of Armed Groups in the West Bank and Their Connections to Gaza". ACLED. 2023-12-14.
  9. ↑ "With eye on Gaza, Palestinian Authority tackles West Bank militants". Christian Science Monitor. 2025-01-10. ISSN   0882-7729.
  10. ↑ "West Bank Dispatch: Israeli army turns attention to Balata amid continuing killing spree". Mondoweiss. 2022-11-14.
  11. ↑ "IDF: Three soldiers wounded, one seriously, in ongoing counter-terrorism operation in Jenin area". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  12. ↑ "IDF says Palestinian gunmen behind deadly al-Funduq terror attack killed near Jenin". The Times of Israel . Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  13. ↑ "Palestinian fighters use explosives against Israeli forces in Jenin". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  14. 1 2 "Israel alerted PA about Jenin operation, prompting security forces' withdrawal: media reports". Middle East Monitor. 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Israel launches massive Jenin operation to root out terrorists". i24NEWS. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  16. 1 2 "Israeli forces 'block entrances to Jenin' as deadly raid enters fourth day". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  17. 1 2 "Hamas slams PA's security aggression against resistance in Jenin". Middle East Monitor. 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  18. ↑ "IDF kills 15 terrorists in Jenin, finds weapons including bomb in washing machine". The Jerusalem Post. 27 January 2025.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "As fighting in Gaza stops, Israel launches major military campaign in West Bank". CNN. 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  20. ↑ "Palestinian child dies after being shot in the head during Israeli raid". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  21. ↑ "Israeli military investigating killing of toddler near Jenin". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Israel launches major offensive in Jenin days after Gaza ceasefire". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  23. 1 2 3 Fabian, Emanuel (21 January 2025). "IDF says Jenin operation expected to last several days". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  24. 1 2 3 "IDF launches Operation Iron Wall against Palestinian terror in Jenin as PA exits". The Jerusalem Post. 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  25. ↑ "Israeli army applies 'lessons' learned in Gaza as it continues West Bank offensive". NBC News. 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  26. 1 2 Kershner, Isabel; AbdulKarim, Fatima (2025-01-21). "Israel Embarks on an 'Extensive' Military Operation in the West Bank". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-21.
  27. ↑ "PA makes deal with Jenin Battalion, ending standoff in northern West Bank city and camp". The Times of Israel . Retrieved 2025-01-18.
  28. ↑ "Two days into West Bank truce, Jenin terror groups open fire on PA forces". The Times of Israel. 2025-01-19. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  29. ↑ "Iran Update, January 19, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
  30. ↑ Jakes, Lara; AbdulKarim, Fatima; Yazbek, Hiba (2025-01-22). "Israeli Raids in West Bank Focus on Jenin, Long a Resistance Hub". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  31. 1 2 "Deadly Israeli raid on Jenin continues as two more Palestinians killed". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  32. ↑ "PA arrests Al Jazeera reporter in Jenin - report". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  33. ↑ Fabian, Emanuel (26 January 2025). "IDF says troops destroyed bomb-making lab in West Bank's Jenin". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  34. ↑ "Jordan's foreign minister warns West Bank could 'explode' amid Israeli operation in Jenin – video". The Guardian . 2025-01-22. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  35. ↑ "UN chief urges 'maximum restraint' in IDF's Jenin operation". Times of Israel. AFP. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  36. ↑ "Israeli forces tear up roads, force displacement of 2,000 families in Jenin". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  37. ↑ "Two Palestinians Killed on Second Day of IDF Antiterror Operation in Jenin". Haaretz. 22 January 2025.
  38. ↑ Lappin, Yaakov (2025-01-27). "What led to IDF op in Jenin—and why it won't be the last". JNS.org. Retrieved 2025-01-27.


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