TEHRAN – Israel has launched a major military operation in the West Bank as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a failed military strategy in the Gaza Strip.
Since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect over the weekend, Israel has stepped up its brutal attacks in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, Israeli forces continued their assault on the flashpoint city of Jenin for the second day in a row. The day before, Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians in the city.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Resistance Movement condemned the Israeli attack.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the systematic displacement, destruction and killings carried out by the (Israeli) military against the Jenin camp and its people,” the movement said.
Resistance groups also blamed the Palestinian Authority for this deadly act of violence.
“We accuse the authorities in Ramallah and its security services of being responsible for participating in and colluding in this invasion after providing (Israel) with the task of besieging the Jenin camp,” the ministry said, according to Al Jazeera. said.
Israeli settlers, protected by regime forces, have also stepped up attacks on Palestinians.
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Khirbet Akwiwis and assaulted residents, Wafa news agency reported.
Palestinian news agencies added that settlers had beaten and pepper-sprayed residents. It said a number of Palestinians, including elderly residents, were hospitalized with head wounds and broken bones.
The increase in Israeli violence comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to cover up the failure to achieve military goals in the Gaza war.
Israel signed a cease-fire agreement with Hamas after failing to defeat Hamas following a 15-month war that left more than 47,000 Palestinians dead.
On Tuesday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lieutenant General Helj Halevi, announced he was resigning for his role in failing to stop Israel’s surprise military operation, Al-Aqsa Storm.
October 7, 2023, Hamas in southern Israel. Following the Hamas attack, Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began.
Halevi’s resignation prompted calls for the Israeli prime minister to resign.
“I salute Helj Halevi. It’s time for the prime minister and his entire pathetic government to take responsibility and resign,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said.
Other Israeli opposition groups made similar calls.
Apart from Israel’s attempt to deflect attention from its military setbacks in Gaza, the regime’s new offensive in the West Bank has highlighted its expansionist agenda.
Israel plans to annex all of the West Bank. Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967 and has expanded its settlements into Palestinian territory over the past few years. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
President Donald Trump’s selection as US ambassador to the United Nations supports Israel’s expansionist policies in the West Bank.
She claimed that Israel had “biblical” control over the occupied West Bank.