Tuesday
July 04, 2023
Israel continued one of the biggest West Bank incursions in 20 years, as the city of Jenin was rocked by drone strikes since Monday, leaving nine dead and 50 injured, reports Al Jazeera.
An Israel Defence Force spokesperson declared that the offense will continue for as long as it takes to “break the mindset” that Jenin is a “a safe haven for terrorists”.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the operation “a new war crime against our defenceless people”, while the Gaza-based militant group Hamas called on young men in the West Bank to join the fighting.
Terming the operation “a new attempt to destroy the camp and displace its people”, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the “heroic Jenin camp” is “resistant to the occupation and its invasions”.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the Israeli operation in a statement, calling it a “heinous crime”.
Lynn Hastings, the UN’s resident humanitarian coordinator, described “alarm” at the “scale of Israeli forces operation in Jenin”, adding on Twitter: “Airstrikes were used in the densely populated refugee camp. Several dead and critically wounded. Access to all injured must be ensured.”
United Nations Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said he has been in “direct contacts with all relevant parties to urgently de-escalate the situation”.
“The current escalation in the occupied West Bank is very dangerous & follows months of mounting tensions,” he said in a Twitter post. “All must ensure the civilian population is protected.”
Meanwhile, the White House said the United States supports Israel’s right to “defend” itself.
“We have seen the reports and are monitoring the situation closely,” a White House spokesperson said. “We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups.”
Israel / Palestine
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