This Is How the Israeli Occupation Added the West Bank to Its War Goals

Jenin camp in the northern occupied West Bank has once again returned to the forefront of events after the Israeli occupation forces launched a new large-scale military operation called ‘Iron Wall’, during which they used drones, helicopters and military vehicles.

The Israeli operation in Jenin comes amid successive events, most notably the start of the hostage exchange deal and the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and the official assumption of US President Donald Trump's duties in the White House.

Between the settlers' attacks that have become more terrifying and bloody on the towns and villages of the West Bank, and the international political cover provided by the United States for the Israeli occupation to do whatever it pleases in the occupied Palestinian territories, it seems that the West Bank is heading towards difficult times and a bleak future.

In parallel with the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli army has expanded its operations, and the settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, resulting in the martyrdom of 870 Palestinians, the injury of about 6,700, and the arrest of 14,300 others.

With American support, “Israel” committed genocide in the Gaza Strip between October 7, 2023 and December 19, 2023, leaving more than 157,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, and more than 11,000 missing.

Iron Wall

Only a few days after the ceasefire in Gaza, the Israeli occupation launched a large-scale aggression on the West Bank, starting from the Jenin camp.

Channel 14 reported that the operation in Jenin was launched by a decision from the political level after the cabinet meeting on January 17, following its decision to include the West Bank among the war's goals, noting that the large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank could last for months.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “following Cabinet directives, the army, Shin Bet and Israel Police have initiated Operation Iron Wall – a major military operation to eliminate terrorism in Jenin. This advances our goal of strengthening security in the West Bank.”

“We continue our systematic and determined action against the Iranian axis wherever it extends – Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and the West Bank,” he added.

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the raid marked the start of a campaign to protect Israeli settlements in the occupied region.

The Israeli operation began with the infiltration of special forces into the Jenin camp, which was accompanied by the withdrawal of the Palestinian Authority’s security services from its surroundings.

According to Israeli reports, prior to the launch of the Israeli military operation, senior officials in the Palestinian Authority received messages from senior officials in the Israeli security establishment about the intention to carry out the operation.

As a result, Israeli aircraft launched a raid on the camp, opening machine gun fire, while drones dropped bombs on several areas in it.

In a toll that continues to rise, the Palestinian health services confirmed that the Israeli occupation killed 10 Palestinians in Jenin and injured more than 40 others.

On his part, the Israeli Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, called for preparations for what he described as major operations that may occur in the West Bank in the coming days.

Halevi's statements came after the first phase of the ceasefire deal in Gaza entered into force, according to which the war on the besieged Strip will be temporarily halted and Palestinian detainees in Israeli occupation prisons will be released in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

In turn, Hamas issued a statement calling for people in the West Bank and its revolutionary youth to mobilize and escalate the clash with the occupation army at all points of contact with it.

In contrast, the United Nations expressed its grave concern about the safety of Palestinians in Jenin and its camp in the West Bank, where Israeli forces are carrying out a military operation there.

Settlement Project

The Israeli occupation is trying to blow up the situation in the occupied West Bank, in preparation for creating a state of violent chaos, to facilitate its annexation, which was evident in the brutal attacks committed by settler gangs against Palestinians and their property in all the occupied territories.

Over the past two days, a very bleak scene has emerged that seems to shape the future of the occupied West Bank in the coming period, after both the Israeli army and the settler gangs considered the decisions taken by US President Donald Trump as a green light to do what they want.

On his first day, the new president had rushed to cancel an executive order issued by his predecessor, Joe Biden, which stipulated imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in violence in the West Bank.

Following the US decision, settlers launched a large-scale attack on a number of Palestinian villages in the Qalqilya Governorate, where they burned homes, vehicles and shops in their attack, resulting in 21 people being injured.

The fears of Palestinians in the West Bank seemed real and serious about a long-term escalation through which the Israeli occupation aims to impose new facts on the ground, in the interest of maximizing the settlement project.

Before launching its aggression, the Israeli occupation forces installed more than 17 military iron gates at the entrances to the cities and villages of the West Bank, as part of a policy of tightening the siege on them, dismembering them, turning them into isolated areas and restricting the movement of Palestinians.

The scene seemed to the observer like an actual implementation of the annexation of the occupied West Bank, which appeared to be a large prison in which the Israeli occupation detains 3 million people.

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the number of Israeli military checkpoints in the West Bank governorates has reached 898 military checkpoints and iron gates, including more than 173 that were installed after the October 7, 2023 attack.

In turn, the Palestinian presidency recently condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, the latest of which were the attacks by terrorist settlers, noting that the attacks aim to dismember the West Bank.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that the far-right Israeli government is trying to drag the West Bank into a comprehensive confrontation with the aim of escalation and creating a climate of violence and tension.

Israeli Pretext

Observers believe that the ceasefire agreement in Gaza may be used as a pretext to increase Israeli pressure on the West Bank.

As the Israeli failure to achieve a decisive victory in the Strip may push Netanyahu and his government to expand their aggression on the West Bank to enhance their image domestically, and to please the far-right poles in the government coalition, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has a clear vision regarding expanding settlements in the West Bank.

Several months ago, Smotrich stated that 2025 would be the year of extending Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank.

He also confirmed the beginning of steps to extend sovereignty to the West Bank, adding that the Tel Aviv government would work with the Trump administration to achieve this goal.

Israeli security circles recently feared that the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons as part of the Gaza deal would strengthen Hamas’s position at the expense of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Yedioth Ahronoth, for its part, warned that the Israeli occupation’s intensification of its military operations in the West Bank could lead to the outbreak of a third Palestinian intifada.

It also pointed to the escalation of popular anger over the oppressive Israeli measures, including plans to expand Israeli military activities in the northern West Bank, amidst the continuation of daily raids and arrests.

For two years, Palestinian bodies have been monitoring accelerated settlement activity in areas classified as (B), which represent 18% of the total area of the occupied West Bank.

Today, there are growing concerns in Palestinian human rights circles that the new US administration may give the green light to implement the ‘annexation plan’, which President Trump was the godfather of 8 years ago when he announced the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’.

In turn, Palestinian political analyst Ismail Maslamani explained in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “what is happening in the West Bank recently confirms that the Israeli occupation is targeting all Palestinians.”

“As its goal of eliminating the resistance in Jenin is nothing but a pretext to begin annexing the West Bank and covering up the major military failure suffered by its forces in Gaza,” he said.

Mr. Maslamani stressed that the strategic goal behind the attack on Jenin is old Israeli efforts to liquidate the Palestinian cause, pointing out that the normalization that Trump worked on during his first term between “Israel” and its Arab surroundings was for the same goal.