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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Capital of Suicide Bombers: Israel Ends One War and Starts Another |
| 2025-01-23 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov [REGNUM] Having barely agreed on the contours of a ceasefire with Hamas, Israel has turned its attention to the West Bank (WB), where, according to the country's authorities, there has been a "sharp increase in the terrorist threat." The counter-terrorist operation, dubbed "Iron Wall," initiated by Tel Aviv has been launched in the Jenin province. In addition to army units, members of the Magav (Border Police) and the General Security Service (Shabaq) have also been deployed. The Israelis insist that the current operation is planned and differs little from previous raids on the West Bank. However, in reality it is perceived more as an attempt by the Israeli establishment to quickly switch attention from domestic problems to countering a common enemy. RESTLESS JENIN On Israeli operational maps, Jenin is traditionally classified as a "red zone" and is considered a key "sore spot" in the Judea and Samaria region (the Israeli term for the West Bank). One of the reasons is the weak governance of these territories. Despite the fact that Jenin is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), much more than officials in the PNA capital Ramallah, the influence "on the ground" is exercised by the commanders of the Palestinian battalion "Jenin", hostile to official Tel Aviv. The Israelis explicitly call the city among themselves the “center of Palestinian terrorism” and the “capital of suicide bombers,” which causes the security forces to constantly pay attention to it, especially after the bloody battles in Gaza. Attempts to fight the enemy using raid methods are interspersed with periodic large-scale operations. Thus, the previous counter-terrorist operation in the vicinity of Jenin (August 2024) resulted in significant destruction of suburban neighborhoods and public infrastructure. This time, Israeli security forces targeted the administrative center directly. The Israeli offensive came amid sporadic clashes between the Palestinian Authority and armed groups in Jenin. For a month, security forces loyal to the official Ramallah tried unsuccessfully to force opponents to surrender, as well as to disarm them. Interestingly, at the height of the confrontation, in December 2024, Ramallah even tried to get “patronage” from the US President in the form of urgent deliveries of ammunition, helmets, body armor, radios, night vision devices, explosive disposal suits and armored vehicles. However, Israel blocked the supplies out of fear that the ammunition and supplies could fall into the hands of Palestinian battalions. The situation in Jenin was relatively stabilized by mid-January, when the PNA security forces and the commanders of local armed groups agreed to a gradual withdrawal of forces and the voluntary surrender of weapons by the “Jenin freebooters.” However, the Iron Wall brought these efforts to naught: the Palestinian security forces were replaced by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). IRAN AS A COVER Despite the fact that the IDF action in Jenin is positioned primarily as an operation to disorganize the terrorist underground in the West Bank, the Israeli authorities do not hide the fact that they are fighting on a broader front. Thus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting on the results of the “Iron Wall,” indicated that the efforts of the army and intelligence services in Jenin are part of a strategy to counter Iranian influence. "This is an additional step in achieving our goal of strengthening security in Judea and Samaria. We act methodically and decisively against the Iranian axis, wherever it penetrates - Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Judea and Samaria - and we continue to act actively," the Israeli prime minister concluded. The Iranian side has not commented on the events in Jenin. Moreover, Iranian strategists do not include the West Bank in the “resistance zone.” And if they do, then only in passing, prioritizing support for loyal forces in the Gaza Strip. This positioning is due to both the unstable positions of anti-Israeli groups in this area and fears of violating the consensus with the PNA’s regional partners — Egypt and Jordan. However, the return of official Tel Aviv to promoting the theme of “Iranian influence” in Palestine is not accidental. With the ruling coalition in Israel continuing to split and some far-right politicians leaving it, Netanyahu desperately needs to keep the remaining right-wing parties in his orbit. This can only be done through quick and decisive victories. And “restless Jenin” is perfect for such adventures – especially since there are still many in Netanyahu’s entourage who want to strengthen Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, including under the guise of fighting the terrorist threat. Moreover, by skillfully juggling the thesis of the "Iranian trace" in Jenin, the current prime minister can undermine the position of the parliamentary opposition. Especially since it was under the government of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, whose parties today form the backbone of the opposition in the Knesset, that Tel Aviv's attention to this area weakened. In this context, the implementation of the “Iron Wall” is also positioned as a correction of other people’s mistakes, as well as proof that Israel maintains control over the situation in Palestine. And this already somewhat shades the recent miscalculations of official Tel Aviv in Gaza and calms down the right-wing politicians who were about to leave. At least, this is what Netanyahu himself thinks. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #2 Israel has been at war since 1948 with periods of quiet while each side reloads. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-01-23 13:17 |
| #1 It's the nature of dogs to bark. |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-01-23 01:38 |