Jenin

The Palestinian city of Jenin and its outlying areas in the hilly northern reaches of the West Bank have long been a serious security concern for the state
of Israel.

The area includes the Jenin refugee camp created in 1953 to house Palestinians who fled or were evicted from their homes during Israel’s War of Independence. The Jenin camp is home to some 17,000 residents crammed into an area that is less than half a square mile. The abutting city of Jenin has approximately 40,000 residents. Unemployment and poverty in the area are among the highest in the West Bank. 

The Jenin area is also host to an array of militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with which roughly half the population is affiliated, and a growing web of independent militants who are provided arms and access to explosive devices in support of their organized or freelanced efforts to attack Israel. 

According to reports, more than 50 attacks against Israel were carried out by Jenin-area militants in the past six months, and 19 militants have taken refuge in the camp after carrying out attacks since last fall. 

In January, Israeli forces killed seven gunmen and two civilians in a raid in Jenin. Last month, Israeli troops waged an hours-long gunbattle with Jenin militants. In that confrontation, six Palestinians were killed and more thanr 90 were wounded. Seven Israelis were injured when a land mine exploded under their armored vehicle. In response, Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis in a nearby settlement, prompting a retaliatory settler rampage through Palestinian towns. 

Mounting violence from Jenin and the inability of the Palestinian Authority to police the area combined to raise tension, fear and anger in Israel. Many observers expected an iron-fisted, bludgeoning response from Israel’s settler-sympathetic government, particularly since the retaliations of militant members of the settler community have generated so much criticism within Israel and beyond. 

But, for now, that hasn’t happened. 

Instead, early last week, Israel’s military carried out a carefully orchestrated and well-managed counterterrorism operation in Jenin, designed to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and ensure IDF freedom of movement in the area. The entire operation lasted two days and featured some pre-attack warnings to limit the loss of innocent lives. Advance notice of the operation was provided to the U.S., and terror cells in Gaza and Lebanon were warned to stay out of the conflict. 

Thirteen Palestinians were killed. Thirty terrorists were arrested. Terrorist apartments, command and control centers, bomb manufacturing sites, weapon storage facilities and underground tunnels were destroyed. Guns, ammunition, explosive devices and thousands of shekels in cash were captured. One Israeli soldier was killed by what may have been friendly fire.  

No one believes that the Jenin operation is the end of the story. So long as the West Bank’s “governing” Palestinian Authority is hobbled by incompetent, aging and corrupt leadership and is unable to pay and manage security forces to do their jobs, the culture of terror will continue to grow in Jenin and beyond.

Israel can help delay or avoid that result by taking any number of steps to bolster the PA and help elevate new leadership. But any such move would require a desire to rebuild the PA and support its authority ― all of which is anathema to today’s hard-right
Israeli leadership.