Israeli army withdraws from Jenin after 2-day operation

Jenin, Palestine | Xinhua |  The Israeli forces pulled out on Tuesday night from the northern West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp, ending two days of a large-scale military operation, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

Israel Radio reported that the Israeli forces, backed by armored vehicles, withdrew amid an intensive exchange of fire between the soldiers and dozens of Palestinian militants.

According to Palestinian security sources, the Israeli army left and were stationed at two Israeli army checkpoints north and west of Jenin.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the Israeli military operation in Jenin has left 13 Palestinians dead and at least 150 others wounded, including 30 in critical condition.

Video clips showed the destruction of homes, shops, roads, and water and electricity networks, which caused an almost complete power outage after the Israeli raids.

Dozens of families returned to their homes while some houses were still on fire. The families fled their homes to the refugee camp on Monday night to search for a safer place amid Israeli airstrikes.

“The extent of destruction in the camp is large, and the houses have become uninhabitable, which reminds us of what happened in 2002,” Ahmed Awais, a local resident, told Xinhua after he had just arrived to check his house.

A spontaneous demonstration took place in the camp, with the participation of dozens of young men, who chanted phrases denouncing the military operation and the great destruction it had left behind in their property.

Starting early Monday, hundreds of Israeli troops backed by drones raided the Jenin area in the largest military campaign in the West Bank in about two decades.

An Israeli army spokesman said in a press statement that the military operation aimed to rein in militants of Palestinian factions, including the Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Earlier on Tuesday, a young Palestinian man rammed his vehicle into a group of pedestrians in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, injuring at least eight Israelis. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, vowing to continue and escalate its resistance against Israel. ■