The largest operation in two decades. The second most important front of the war

Israeli troops launched their biggest operation in the West Bank in two decades on Wednesday – since the end of the second intifada in 2005, a five-year uprising by Palestinians against the Palestinians. To Israel.

The current offensive is focused on the northern part of the territory, around the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm. Its aim is to hit growing Palestinian terrorist groups and prevent them from planning attacks on Israel. The operation has killed 29 Palestinians, most of whom were identified as members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Reuters reported.

In the southern Gaza Strip, in the vicinity of Hebron, a terrorist attack took place on Sunday, killing three Israeli policemen. On Saturday, two attempted attacks were thwarted in the area. Drivers of cars loaded with explosives were shot dead. Another such attack attempt was reported on Monday.

Hamas had earlier called for the resumption of suicide bombings, which have not been practiced in the area for years.

The Islamist Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, and the war has been ongoing there since then. However, the terrorist organization has a growing influence in the West Bank, which is co-administered by its rival secular party Fatah.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants to inflame the situation in the West Bank to divert attention from the Gaza Strip. He also supports terrorists in Jenin and Hebron Iranincluding smuggling weapons there – wrote “Israel Hayom”. The newspaper added that since after October 7, Palestinians were banned from entering Israel, where many of them worked, wages paid by terrorist groups became a significant source of income in that area.

There is a consensus among Israeli authorities that the situation requires more radical actions. The operation conducted in the north will soon be expanded to other areas, and the army's main goal should be to eliminate Hamas in the West Bank, the daily noted.

According to the services, a serious terrorist attack may occur soon, but while the targets of the recent attacks were towns in the West Bank, the next ones may already be aimed at Tel Aviv, Beer Sheva or Jerusalem – added “Israel Hayom”.

Tensions in the West Bank, already plagued by violence, have increased since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip in the fall of 2023. There has been an intensification of Israeli airstrikes against Palestinian militias, as well as attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian villages. There have also been reports of attacks organized by Palestinians. Since October last year, more than 660 Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed in the West Bank.