Israeli Foreign Minister Calls West Bank Invasion ‘a War in Every Sense’

PALESTINE - ISRAEL, 2 Sep 2024

Mondoweiss Palestine Bureau - TRANSCEND Media Service

The Israeli army inspects ambulance teams in Jenin during the large-scale invasion of the northern West Bank on 28 Aug 2024. (Photo: Shatha Hanaysha/Mondoweiss)

29 Aug 2024 – The Israeli army’s large-scale assault on the northern West Bank has entered its second day. During a battle in Nur Shams refugee camp, the Israeli army killed wanted resistance fighter Muhammad Jaber “Abu Shuja’,” leader of the Tulkarem Brigade.

Casualties 

• 40,602+ killed* and at least 93,855 wounded in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza-based Ministry of Health as of August 29, 2024. Some 10,000 more are estimated to be under the rubble.
• 664+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank, 5,600 wounded since October 7, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health as of August 29, 2024.

Key Developments 

• Israeli forces kill at least 18 Palestinians, injure dozens as part of large-scale northern West Bank invasion since start of operation. Martyrs include 6 people in Tulkarem, 4 in Tubas, and 8 in Jenin, according to Wafa News Agency.
• Israeli army kills 68 Palestinians, wounds 77 in past 24 hours in Gaza, according to Gaza-based Ministry of Health.
• Israeli army announces large-scale military operation in northern West Bank, including Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas; claims operation largest in West Bank since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
• Israeli army announces assassination of wanted resistance fighter and leader of Tulkarem Brigade, Muhammad “Abu Shuja’” Jaber, alongside four other resistance fighters.
• Israeli army announces on Wednesday death of two soldiers in fighting in Gaza over past 24 hours.
• EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says Israeli West Bank assault must not be “premises” of “war extension” from Gaza, including “full-scale destruction.”
• Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz says operation must deal with northern West Bank similarly to Gaza, including “temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents,” adding that assault is “a war in every sense.”
• UN’s World Food Programme pauses staff operations in Gaza after being shot at by Israeli soldiers at checkpoint, “despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach.”

West Bank Invasion: Day 2

The Israeli army’s large-scale military assault on the northern West Bank entered its second day on Thursday, August 29. Dubbed “Operation Summer Camps,” the Israeli army has deployed three separate brigades to invade the northern West Bank cities of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas, respectively. The primary targets of the attack are the armed resistance groups that have grown and developed in the north over the past three years, including the Jenin Brigade, the Tulkarem Brigade, and the Tubas Brigade. The Israeli army radio reported on August 28 that the operation in the northern West Bank is the largest of its kind since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, and is expected to last for several days.

Mondoweiss contributor and on-the-ground reporter Shatha Hanaysha has reported that the invasion of large swathes of these cities has concentrated in the refugee camps, involving the use of reconnaissance planes and helicopters, the entry of armored vehicles and D9 bulldozers into neighborhoods (causing widespread destruction to civilian infrastructure), the killing of at least 10 people during the first day of the invasion (mostly through drone strikes), and the injury of dozens more from gunfire.

Israeli forces have imposed a blockade on the cities of Jenin, Tubas, and Tulkarem, closing streets and roads leading in and out of the cities. Israeli forces surrounded and besieged the main hospitals in Jenin and Tulkarem, preventing ambulance crews from reaching or leaving the hospitals and conducting detailed searches of medical personnel and patients.

Most of the Israeli army’s operations have taken place in Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, Jenin refugee camp in Jenin, and al-Far’a refugee camp in Tubas, causing damage and destruction to civilian infrastructure and launching several airstrikes.

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli snipers stationed on rooftops in Jenin have been “shooting anyone who is moving,” which is how two people have been killed in Jenin. Al Jazeera also reported that the Israeli army continues to besiege Jenin Governmental Hospital and hampers the ability of ambulances to transport the wounded to the facility.

The Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, said on X that the operation must deal with the armed groups “just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents,” adding that the Israeli assault is a “war in every sense.”

UN Foreign Policy chief Joseph Borrel took to X on Wednesday and warned against the West Bank operation from becoming “the premises of a war extension from Gaza,” asserting that Israel Katz’s statement threatened to “fuel further instability.”

https://x.com/JosepBorrellF/status/1828837521989697835

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