Description

Photo: Published by Haaretz

Smoke billowing over houses in Jenin, in the West Bank, on Sunday. Credit: Raneen Sawafta/Reuters.

People walk along a road torn up by a bulldozer during an Israeli raid on the Jenin camp for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, on Monday. Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP

An Israeli military bulldozer digs up a street in the al-Fara camp for Palestinian refugees south of Jenin in the West Bank on Sunday. Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP
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by Yaniv Kubovich
Feb 2, 2025 10:22 pm IST

The Israel Defense Forces said it demolished buildings in the Jenin refugee camp on Sunday, in line with a decision taken by political leaders allowing it to widen roads and make changes to built-up areas to facilitate troop movements.

Officially, the army had been saying until now that the roads and buildings were being razed to destroy infrastructure used by local gunmen against soldiers. In that context, the IDF said Sunday it had destroyed 23 buildings used as terrorist infrastructure. Searches by the army and Shin Bet operatives uncovered bombs and weapons workshops and caches, it said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting "to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and the occupation forces' destruction of entire residential neighborhoods in the refugee camps in Jenin and Tul Karm."

A senior military source said the IDF's Central Command got approval from the political echelon after advocating such a policy.

The source said the Jenin operation presented an opportunity to change the physical structure of the camp and might be used in other locations around the West Bank where similar conditions prevail.

The policy would enable the army to more easily strike armed militants, who are often able to escape or take shelter in densely built-up areas.

The Jenin camp was established in 1953 for Palestinians who had fled the Haifa area around the time of the 1948 War of Independence. The camp packs 16,000 residents in a half-kilometer area of narrow roads and densely packed housing. Homes are often built attached to one another, enabling gunmen to move from building to building without going outside.

The IDF said it had killed more than 50 terrorists and arrested more than 100 since the start of Operation Iron Wall in the northern West Bank. The army said it had also killed two non-combatants, a man and girl.

It said the operation was expected to continue at least another several weeks. However, the army emphasized that the decision will ultimately be made by the political echelon.

The IDF reiterated that it was ready to contend with the Palestinian security prisoners being released to the West Bank as part of the hostage deal Israel agreed to with Hamas.

It said it was working to thwart parades and rallies to welcome the prisoners, and are warning their families before their release. When such parades are held, they added, troops attack the gunmen who arrive.

In regard to the checkpoints erected at the orders of political leaders on roads leading to Palestinian cities, the IDF said they have created a security problem for troops and settlers by creating traffic backups that increase the risk of terror attacks.
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IDF Razes Homes in West Bank's Jenin to Ease Troops' Movement Through the Camp

A senior military source says the IDF razed buildings with the political echelon's approval, as roads in the camp are too narrow for military vehicles. Previously, the IDF claimed the buildings had housed terrorist infrastructure

by Yaniv Kubovich for Haaretz
Feb 2, 2025 10:22 pm IST

The Israel Defense Forces said it demolished buildings in the Jenin refugee camp on Sunday, in line with a decision taken by political leaders allowing it to widen roads and make changes to built-up areas to facilitate troop movements.

Officially, the army had been saying until now that the roads and buildings were being razed to destroy infrastructure used by local gunmen against soldiers. In that context, the IDF said Sunday it had destroyed 23 buildings used as terrorist infrastructure. Searches by the army and Shin Bet operatives uncovered bombs and weapons workshops and caches, it said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting "to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, and the occupation forces' destruction of entire residential neighborhoods in the refugee camps in Jenin and Tul Karm."

A senior military source said the IDF's Central Command got approval from the political echelon after advocating such a policy.

The source said the Jenin operation presented an opportunity to change the physical structure of the camp and might be used in other locations around the West Bank where similar conditions prevail.

The policy would enable the army to more easily strike armed militants, who are often able to escape or take shelter in densely built-up areas.

The Jenin camp was established in 1953 for Palestinians who had fled the Haifa area around the time of the 1948 War of Independence. The camp packs 16,000 residents in a half-kilometer area of narrow roads and densely packed housing. Homes are often built attached to one another, enabling gunmen to move from building to building without going outside.

The IDF said it had killed more than 50 terrorists and arrested more than 100 since the start of Operation Iron Wall in the northern West Bank. The army said it had also killed two non-combatants, a man and girl.

It said the operation was expected to continue at least another several weeks. However, the army emphasized that the decision will ultimately be made by the political echelon.

The IDF reiterated that it was ready to contend with the Palestinian security prisoners being released to the West Bank as part of the hostage deal Israel agreed to with Hamas.

It said it was working to thwart parades and rallies to welcome the prisoners, and are warning their families before their release. When such parades are held, they added, troops attack the gunmen who arrive.

In regard to the checkpoints erected at the orders of political leaders on roads leading to Palestinian cities, the IDF said they have created a security problem for troops and settlers by creating traffic backups that increase the risk of terror attacks.