Israel plans to keep troops in West Bank's Jenin indefinitely

Israel's defense minister indicated Wednesday that the military plans to keep soldiers in the flashpoint city of Jenin for the foreseeable future, as Israeli forces have focused on a major crackdown in the northern West Bank during the ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel Katz pledged that the urban refugee camp in Jenin — long a bastion for Palestinian militancy — “will not return to what it was.”

The military said it has killed 18 alleged Palestinian militants during the nine-day operation in and around Jenin, during which soldiers and armored bulldozers have caused widespread damage and destroyed scores of homes.

Palestinian health officials have not released a total death toll, but say Israeli fire has killed roughly 20 Palestinians since the start of the raid, including a 2-year-old girl. Israel’s military has pledged to investigate her death.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank overnight and into Wednesday.

A 23-year-old man was shot dead in Tulkarem and a 25-year-old man was killed in a strike on Jenin. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its reports.

- Israeli expert says West Bank operation lacks a clear goal -

Michael Milshtein, an Israeli expert on Palestinian affairs and a former Israeli intelligence officer, said he is worried that the military’s current operation in the West Bank city of Jenin lacked a clear goal and risked entrenching an Israeli presence there.

Israel’s raid follows a recent — and rare — incursion into Jenin by the the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied territory and is deeply unpopular among Palestinians.

“We are faced with a situation where the Palestinian Authority didn’t solve anything in Jenin,” Milshtein said Wednesday. “I’m very worried that in a short amount of time we will find ourselves as the ones responding to civil issues there as well.”

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there.