As tenuous ceasefire holds in Gaza, Israeli terrorism intensifies in the West Bank

While Gaza is a coveted prize, for the psychopaths in Israeli politics the annexation of the West Bank is a top priority.

For over a week now Israel has besieged Jenin in the West Bank. It has gone on to kill nearly two dozen Palestinians, detain hundreds of civilians, destroy public infrastructure, and bulldoze and burn numerous houses of the natives. On Monday, the barbaric Israeli terrorism in the West Bank extended from Jenin to Tulkarem and Nablus — the three areas collectively known as the Triangle of Fire or simply the Triangle since the time of British colonisation due to their fierce resistance to occupation.

Assault on Jenin

The assault on Jenin began nearly two months ago when Israel let loose its attack dog, the Palestinian Authority (PA), on its own people. Ever loyal to the hand that feeds it, the PA set about its mission with revolutionary zeal. Over a period of 48 days, beginning from early December until January 21, the PA killed three resistance fighters, arrested 247 individuals, dismantled 17 car bombs (prepared for the Zionists), seized three explosives manufacturing facilities, and confiscated weapons and supplies from multiple storage sites.

The Palestinian Vichy regime also went on to kill several civilians, including the 21-year-old journalist Shatha Sabbagh, who was shot in the head by a PA sniper as she stepped out of her house.

On January 17, the PA came to an agreement with the Jenin Brigades — the main resistance group in Jenin and which comprises fighters from various Palestinian factions — to cease its aggression. But truce didn’t hold for long as the PA went back to doing Israel’s bidding in no time.

In a statement on January 28, the Committee of Families of Political Detainees in the West Bank listed 382 violations by the PA in Jenin:

The Palestinian Authority committed over 382 violations between December 4, 2024, and January 25, 2025, particularly in Jenin Camp.

These violations include the detention of over 144 Palestinians, including university students and prominent activists, accompanied by torture and mistreatment.

More than 15 violations against medical teams and health facilities were documented, including the arrest of three medics, three assaults on medical personnel, and three shootings at hospitals and health facilities. Ambulances and their crews were also searched.

During this period, 43 individuals were injured by PA security forces, some in serious condition, including children and women.

In Jenin Camp, PA forces imposed a strict siege, closing camp entrances, deploying snipers on rooftops, and targeting homes and public facilities. This led to a humanitarian crisis, with water and electricity being cut off due to gunfire at transformers, in addition to the destruction of homes and property.

The PA’s actions against its own people was described by The Times of Israel as a “bid to show incoming US President Donald Trump that Ramallah can maintain order in the West Bank, amid its push to take the reins of Gaza from Hamas after the war there.” With Hamas firmly in power in Gaza, Mahmoud Abbas will have to make do with the West Bank Swiss cheese.

The occupation takes over

Having wreaked havoc in Jenin for nearly eight weeks at the behest of and in the service of the Zionists, the Palestinian Authority diligently handed its reign of terror over to the specialists, the Israeli occupation forces, who launched, in the words of Netanyahu, “a large-scale and significant military operation to eradicate terrorism in Jenin,” with ground troops and airstrikes and went on to kill over a dozen Palestinians on January 21. It marked the beginning of what the genocidal occupation has labelled the “Iron Wall” operation.

A day earlier, the Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi had prepared the ground for assault on the West Bank. “Alongside enhanced defensive preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be ready for significant operations in Judea and Samaria in the coming days,” Halevi said in a statement on January 20. The Biblical psychopaths in Israel refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria.

In a first major strike, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported eight deaths and 35 injuries from the Israeli assault, however, the eventual toll crossed the dozen mark. “Israeli warplanes are also taking part in the aggression on the city of Jenin and its camp, as they stormed with a large number of military vehicles from al-Jalameh military checkpoint, shortly after special forces were discovered in al-Jabarat neighbourhood,” Wafa reported on January 21.

The accompanying destruction operations by the Israeli military laid waste to vast swathes of public infrastructure in Jenin:

The Israelis demolished homes:

And shot and killed civilians just going about their life:

Including children:

2-year-old Laila al-Khatib was killed by the Israelis with a bullet to her head in Jenin on January 25.

As the Israelis continued their siege of Jenin in tandem with the Palestinian Authority, hundreds of residents were forced to take shelter in hospitals — in scenes reminiscent of Gaza. The director of Khalil Suleiman Governmental Hospital in Jenin on January 23 revealed that about 600 medical personnel were taking shelter inside the hospital with limited food and water supplies. The hospital director further added that “the current situation is horrific, as the occupation has destroyed the roads in front of the hospital.”

On January 24, the Israelis demolished ten Palestinian homes in Jenin. Jenin mayor Mohammad Jarrar said that the Israeli campaign in Jenin was “systematic” and was intended to make the camp uninhabitable. “The demolition carried out by the occupation forces comes within the context of a well-studied and systematic plan,” Jarrar said. “The nature of the demolition and burning operations indicates the occupation’s intention to make the camp uninhabitable.”

On January 27, Israeli Channel 14 reported that the genocidal state’s political leadership had “directed the expansion of the military operation in Jenin to other areas in the West Bank.” The Israeli savagery since then has expanded to include Tulkarem, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Al-Quds (Jerusalem), among others areas.

In the latest round of escalation, Israeli terrorism on Tulkarem began with an airstrike on a car that killed two resistance fighters:

The car attack was followed by the destruction of public and private property in Tulkarem:

In conjunction with its terror campaign in the West Bank, the occupation authorities have issued demolition orders to a whole village in Jerusalem. The village of al-Nu’man, located east of Bethlehem, with its 45 homes and 150 residents — who have long been prevented by the Israelis from building any new structures — now faces the prospect of being ethnically cleansed.

Resistance operations in the West Bank

Just like in Gaza, the Palestinian resistance has followed the Israelis wherever they have appeared in the West Bank. The resistance has been confronting both the treacherous Palestinian Authority and the occupation forces in Jenin and other areas of the West Bank since the start of the recent conflagrations. Zaher Jabareen, the head of Hamas in the West Bank, said that the Israeli designs on the West Bank won’t come to fruition. “In the West Bank, Netanyahu seeks to open another battle with our people,” he told Al Jazeera on January 21, the day the Israelis began their assault on Jenin. “Just as he was defeated in Gaza, the West Bank will remain unbreakable by God’s will.”

Jabareen laid out the treacherous activities of the Israelis in the lead up to the ongoing escalations: “The occupation distributed over 200,000 weapons to fascist settlers, seized tens of thousands of dunams, demolished thousands of Palestinian homes, and repeatedly stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque with extremist settlers.”

The resistance groups in Jenin, primarily the Jenin Brigades (local branch of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades), Al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas), and the youth wing of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades have been at the forefront of the resistance operations against Israeli terrorism. Intense gunfire exchanges between the Palestinian fighters and the Israeli terrorists continue to take place every day and the resistance has also been blowing up Israeli tanks and bulldozers with explosives.

Quds Brigades gave the first reports of resistance operations in Jenin on January 22:

6:00 am: Our fighters continue to confront the invading occupation forces on various combat axes and shower the enemy forces and military vehicles with direct bullets and explosive devices according to the requirements and conditions of the field.

12:50 am: Our fighters, along with the Qassam fighters and the Youth of Revenge and Liberation, confronted the invading occupation forces on various combat fronts, set up a number of ambushes for the enemy forces, and showered the enemy forces and military vehicles with volleys of direct bullets and explosive devices according to the requirements and conditions of the field.

On the same day, Al-Qassam reported an explosive attack on an Israeli bulldozer:

Al-Qassam fighters detonated an explosive device on a Zionist bulldozer near the Jenin Cinema in the centre of the city in the northern West Bank.

And clashes with Israeli troops:

Al-Qassam fighters engage in fierce clashes with enemy forces with machine guns and homemade bombs in the towns of Arraba and Fahma, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Resistance operations have since continued apace as the Palestinians attempt to stave off Israeli incursions and safeguard their neighbourhoods.

The resistance in Jenin, just like in Gaza, has accompanied its updates with occasional fiery posters. Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades — the military wing of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) — started with “Jenin: The Epic”.

Jenin: The Epic.

On January 28, Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades - Youth of Revenge and Liberation in a statement warned the occupation, “You will be defeated and the resistance will remain”:

“Our message to this enemy, from Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus, Tubas, the camps, and all the strongholds of the resistance: you will be defeated, and the resistance will remain steadfast, unbreakable, shattering the myth of your defeated army.” The message went on to quote Al-Qassam’s Abu Obeida, “You will leave dragging the tails of defeat, just as you left Gaza—the land of pride and dignity.”

Now, in its ninth day of Jenin invasion, the Israelis have continued to intensify their siege and have added reinforcements in what appears to be a long-term plan of ethnic cleansing and occupation of the West Bank. Indeed, war minister Israel Katz verbalised the Israeli intent: “After the operation is completed, IDF troops will remain in the camp to make sure terror does not return.” Right on cue the Israeli parliament approved a bill that would allow Jews to be registered owners of land in the West Bank.

Katz’s remarks about the occupation of Jenin came a day after he said the Israelis have no intention of giving up the parts of Syria they have illegally occupied since the fall of the Assad regime. What’s more, an Israeli military official told Yedioth Ahronoth that the genocidal army intends to stay inside occupied Lebanese territories for the foreseeable future.

If the Israeli plans were to come to their genocidal conclusion, only Jews from Manhattan will have sovereign rights in the Arab lands.

Israeli designs on the West Bank

The Israeli siege of Jenin began around the same time as the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect, leading many to speculate that Trump’s insistence on a truce in Gaza was merely a ploy to divert resources towards the complete Israeli annexation of the West Bank — an agenda foremost in the minds of Israel first ghouls like Mike Huckabee, Elise Stefanik, and Pete Hegseth in his administration, and for which Sheldon Adelson’s widow, Miriam, donated over $100 million to his campaign.

On January 21, the psychotic Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich was salivating at the prospect of the annexation of the West Bank. “After Gaza and Lebanon, today, with God’s help, we have begun changing the security perception in Judea and Samaria and in the campaign to eradicate terrorism in the region,” he wrote on Twitter on January 21. “This is part of the war goals that were added to the cabinet’s demand for religious Zionism on Friday.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir, during his tenure as national security minister, armed the Jewish squatters in the West Bank to the teeth. Katz, the war minister, recently removed the possibility of putting squatter thugs into administrative detention, no matter what they do. Trump recently removed sanctions on squatters. All of these developments can be seen pointing in the one direction: more pain for the Palestinians.

While Gaza is a coveted prize, for the Biblical psychopaths in Israeli politics the annexation of the West Bank is a top priority. They have long sought to push the nearly 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank into Jordan. Now that 15 months of unrestrained genocide in Gaza has solidified the belief that Israelis are above international law and any considerations of morality and basic human decency that binds the rest of humanity, they likely see the stars in complete alignment to go for the kill in the West Bank.

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