Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move Sunday into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks. Israel launched the broad offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule.
The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas. The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced to flee during wars with Israel decades ago. Tanks were last deployed in the territory in , when Israel fought a deadly Palestinian uprising. Netanyahu under pressure to crack down. Under interim peace agreements from the early s, Israel maintains control over large parts of the West Bank while the Palestinian Authority administers other areas. Israel regularly sends troops into Palestinian zones but typically withdraws them once missions are completed.
The U. Israel has carried out raids during that time, but with fighting in Gaza and Lebanon on hold, Netanyahu has been under pressure from far-right governing partners to crack down on militancy in the West Bank. Israel says most were militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions as well as people not involved in confrontations have also been killed.
In the most recent operation, a pregnant Palestinian woman was killed. Jewish settlers also have carried out rampages in Palestinian areas in the territory. There has also been a spike in Palestinian attacks emanating from the West Bank. On Thursday, blasts rocked three empty buses in Israel in what police view as a suspected militant attack. Israel delays release of Palestinian prisoners.
The West Bank raids come at a sensitive time, as the truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza remains tenuous. The prisoners were to have been released shortly after six Israeli hostages in Gaza were freed Saturday β five of them in staged ceremonies criticized by the U.
