The UN secretary-general has voiced concern about the possible long-term consequences.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Israeli military said it killed five Hamas militants on Thursday as it pressed ahead with one of the deadliest military operations in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza.
The announcement came a day after the start of Israel’s invasion into the Palestinian territory that has sealed off the city of Jenin, as well as Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camp.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for Israel to halt its operation in the West Bank immediately.
“These dangerous developments are fuelling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further undermining the Palestinian Authority,” Guterres said.
While Israeli forces have been present in the occupied West Bank throughout the war in Gaza, Thursday’s raids indicate an expansion that could have broader effects in the region.
Violence in West Bank surges
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank, which it said are required to dismantle Hamas and other militant groups.
At least 652 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israel since the war in Gaza began 10 months ago, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most died as a result of exchanges of fire with militants triggered by the raids.
Israel says the raids are aimed at preventing attacks on Israeli citizens, which have also increased. Last Monday, Hamas and another militant group claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a failed bombing attack in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv that killed the attacker and wounded a bystander.
But the raids have also been a catalyst for the rise of Palestinian movements in the occupied West Bank. Following this week’s raids, Hamas called on security forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, to “join the sacred battle of our people”.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the raids as a “serious escalation” and called on the US to intervene.
Expansion into West Bank — why now?
The Israeli government says the expansion of the war into the West Bank is necessary to fight Hamas on multiple fronts.
The raids so far focused on refugee camps that date back to the 1948 war surrounding the creation of the Israeli state when more than 700,000 Palestinians were driven out of what is now Israel.
In a post on X, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz claimed that “Iran is working to establish an eastern terrorist front against Israel in the West Bank […] by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan.”
But Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian issues at Tel Aviv University, predicted similar operations in the future because Israeli authorities don’t seem to have a strategy for defeating Hamas in either Gaza or the West Bank.
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has warned that extended operations in the West Bank risks “seriously deepening the already catastrophic situation” in Palestinian areas.
ADVERTISEMENTUN Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani called on the Israeli government to abide by its obligations under international law “as the occupying power” in the West Bank.
Palestinians in the West Bank have also experienced an increase in violent settler attacks.
On 15 August, a settler riot in the city of Jit in the northern West Bank killed one Palestinian and badly injured others. Residents said at least a hundred masked settlers entered the village, shot live ammunition at Palestinians, burned homes and cars and damaged water tankers.
Risks of settler expansion
Critics of the escalating military operations in the West Bank point to the disastrous effects it could have on civilian infrastructure, as well as the prospect of the expansion of illegal settlements.
ADVERTISEMENTThe OHCHR warned that the situation in the Occupied West Bank “could worsen dramatically” if the Israeli military continues to “systematically use unlawful lethal force and ignore violence perpetrated by settlers”.
Over 700,000 Jewish settlers live in over 100 settlements across Palestinian territory. These residents have Israeli citizenship, while some 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited control over population centres.
While the Israeli government states that the West Bank raids are part of their broader goal of eradicating Hamas, Israel has already approved plans for 3,400 new settlements in the occupied West Bank — the largest seizure of land in over three decades.
In July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end.
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