[News] In the West Bank, another 'Gaza genocide' unfolds

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 In the West Bank, another 'Gaza genocide' unfolds

Israel, in collusion with the Palestinian Authority, is executing a
coordinated crackdown in the occupied West Bank that mirrors its war on
Gaza, using military force, intelligence sharing, and systematic
destruction to weaken resistance and expand territorial control.

The Cradle's Palestine Correspondent
<https://thecradle.co/authors/the-cradles-palestine-correspondent-68>

FEB 3, 2025 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/in-the-west-bank-another-gaza-genocide-unfolds
Photo Credit: The Cradle

Forty-eight days into the Palestinian Authority's (PA) crackdown
<https://thecradle.co/articles/the-pas-west-bank-crackdown-a-crisis-of-legitimacy>
on the resistance in the occupied West Bank, followed by roughly two weeks
of Israeli military operations and a concurrent siege by PA security
forces, the northern occupied West Bank remains engulfed in an intensifying
joint military-security offensive.

This campaign, which began on 5 December 2024 with the PA’s assault on the
Jenin refugee camp, saw a shift on 21 January 2025, when Israeli occupation
forces took over. By 27 January, the campaign expanded to Tulkarem and its
two camps, with further incursions <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/28714>
into Tubas, Al-Faraa camp, and Tammun.

In reality, these two offensives – by the PA and the occupation state – are
deeply intertwined. During the PA's operation, Israel provided intelligence
via continuous drone surveillance over Jenin before executing airstrikes
that resulted in the martyrdom of 12 Palestinians.

Once the Israeli military operation commenced, the PA withdrew, but not
before reinforcing the siege
<https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/1/3/pas-brutal-siege-on-jenin-only-deepens-its-crisis-of-legitimacy>
alongside occupation troops, leading to the martyrdom and arrest of
numerous resistance fighters.

Despite PA claims – specifically from Anwar Rajab, its National Security
Agency’s spokesperson – that their forces retreated due to Israel's attack
and were unaware of the impending invasion, this narrative strains
credibility.

The scale of the PA deployment – hundreds, at times nearly a thousand
security personnel – would have made a sudden, uncoordinated withdrawal
amid an Israeli assault highly improbable. The PA’s presence, including
snipers
<https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/2/1/the-pa-and-israel-are-allies-in-silencing-the-truth>,
roadblocks, and security patrols, suggests a level of coordination rather
than a hasty retreat.

*A coordinated effort against the resistance*

Eyewitnesses and sources within the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) tell *The
Cradle* a different account. The Jenin Brigade of the PIJ’s military wing,
the Quds Brigades, has faced an unprecedented double-pronged attack aimed
at eradicating the battalion.

According to the sources, the Jenin Brigade
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/1014> previously ensured their survival
by relocating key commanders and fighters to surrounding villages,
mountainous hideouts, and other resistance strongholds in Nablus, Tulkarem,
Tubas, and the Jordan Valley upon detecting incoming Israeli special
forces.

“This time, the PA ambushed the retreating fighters and arrested dozens of
them, and those who tried to flee or resist were shot and wounded or
killed,” the sources say, adding that hospitals also became battlegrounds,
with the PA reportedly lying in wait to detain and torture wounded
resistance fighters. Even medical personnel suspected of aiding injured
fighters faced persecution.

This collaboration was crucial for Israel, as security considerations and
limited forces in the occupied West Bank had previously prevented them from
conducting such widespread sweeps alone. The PA’s complicity in hunting
down resistance fighters allowed Israel to operate with relative impunity.

Local sources confirm to *The Cradle* that PA forces, taking cover in
civilian vehicles, pursued resistance fighters across Jenin’s towns –
Araba, Ya'bad, Kferet, and beyond – continuing the chase into Tubas.

Fighters attempting to regroup were kidnapped in locations like Siris, Deir
Ghazala, and Ya'bad. In some cases, direct clashes erupted, allowing
resistance fighters to escape. In Ya'bad, PA security forces are said to
have fired indiscriminately at the mountains, hoping to strike any hidden
resistance members.

*Deception and entrapment: The revoked agreement*

Many in Jenin accuse the PA of deception, having misled the resistance into
believing a settlement was brokered
<https://thecradle.co/articles/palestinian-authority-resistance-reach-agreement-to-end-jenin-siege>
through tribal mediator Daoud al-Zeer.

After the cessation of the war in Gaza and the settlement game conducted by
Ramallah, the resistance fighters decided to withdraw and spread to
different areas of Jenin for fear of the PA's treachery and persecution
inside the camp, as well as to spare blood and prevent bloody clashes if
the PA tries to arrest one of them, a local source explains to *The Cradle:*

“The PA Security Command deluded its elements that the agreement was made
to prevent PA elements from leaking information to the resistance after
Ramallah discovered a problem in the loyalty of a number of officers and
soldiers. Then with the start of the military operation of the occupation,
decisions came to raid the villages and towns of Jenin, including medical
centers, outskirts of villages, abandoned houses, mosques and homes of
liberated prisoners.”

Before Israel's offensive, the PA had already arrested over 70
Palestinians, subjecting them to severe torture. Reports surfaced of
security forces filming and circulating videos of detainees in humiliating
conditions.

While the PA scaled back direct security operations in Jenin as occupation
troops took over, its intelligence activities persisted, identifying safe
houses and alternative resistance headquarters, particularly in Tammun and
Horsh al-Saada.

Tel Aviv openly acknowledged this collaboration. Alon Ben-David, a military
analyst for the Israeli Channel 13, noted Israel’s “satisfaction with the
level of coordination with the PA during the Jenin operation.”

*Old wine in a new bottle *

Israel’s latest operation in the northern occupied West Bank has been
dubbed “Iron Wall
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/23/what-is-israels-deadly-iron-wall-military-raid-in-the-west-banks-jenin>,”
a name eerily reminiscent of “Swords of Iron
<https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/About/Lexicon/Pages/SwordsIron.aspx>,” the
initial title of its war on Gaza post-Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Although
later renamed “Genesis War” or “War of Resurrection” by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, these biblical allusions
<https://research.sharqforum.org/2025/01/24/from-iron-swords-to-iron-wallshow-israelis-perceived-the-end-of-the-war-on-gaza/>
tap into the occupation state’s broader ideological and territorial
ambitions.

The previous Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank, “House and Garden
<https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/front-page/the-background-of-operation-house-and-garden/2023/07/05/>,”
launched in July 2023, was intended to demonstrate the occupation army’s
“willingness to take military action against [the resistance] in the West
Bank, even if it means confronting [it in] Gaza.”

As with the previous operation, “The Israeli operation aims to inflict
significant damage on the [resistances’] infrastructure, recognizing that
complete eradication may not be achievable.”

While Israel’s rhetoric suggests a long-term occupation of Jenin, its
actions – such as deploying elite forces, occupying civilian buildings, and
burning homes – indicate preparations for a larger annexation strategy.

The Israeli military has exaggerated its findings, claiming to have
uncovered RPGs, 150 explosive devices, and 10 weapon labs in Jenin.
However, photos reveal little more than homemade launchers and improvised
grenades. Ironically, the PA’s earlier operation in Jenin touted even
larger seizures, further exposing the coordinated nature of these
offensives.

*Different tactics *

Despite the exhaustion of the Palestinian resistance due to the PA's
prolonged siege and depletion of its ammunition, military cells have still
managed to inflict serious damage on the invading forces. The resistance’s
effectiveness was showcased by the urgent air evacuations of dead and
wounded Israeli soldiers – an indication of the severity of their injuries
and their numbers.

Israel acknowledged <https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-840005>
the death of Reconnaissance Battalion soldier Liam Hazi and the serious
wounding of five others. However, resistance factions, particularly the
Quds Brigades and Hamas’s Qassam Brigades, claim higher enemy casualties.

Most resistance operations were concentrated in the Jenin governorate,
where guerrilla-style ambushes and surprise attacks disrupted Israeli
advances. In Tulkarem, the early discovery of an infiltrating occupation
special unit forced a premature incursion, thwarting an intended
assassination. Meanwhile, in Azzun, attacks on Israeli forces – including
the use of explosive devices – have resumed after a temporary lull.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in recent operations, 16 of them
confirmed civilians. Israel increasingly relies on airpower, with drones
and Hermes 450 warplanes conducting over 170 attacks across the occupied
West Bank since 7 October 2023. One of the latest victims was Qassam’s
Tulkarem commander Ihab Abu Atiwi
<https://english.news.cn/20250128/57fc54971eb14f51b1e46a1a93887c32/c.html>,
who was assassinated in Nur Shams camp by an airstrike.

At the time of writing, over 100 homes have been demolished, families
displaced, and infrastructure systematically destroyed. The bulldozing of
Jenin’s Mahyoub Street and Tulkarem’s city center suggests a long-term
occupation strategy aimed at erasing resistance strongholds and
furthering annexation
plans
<https://thecradle.co/articles/the-state-backed-settler-war-to-annex-the-west-bank>
.

*The expansion to Tulkarem *

On 27 January, Israel launched a large-scale attack on Tulkarem and its two
refugee camps, mimicking the tactics used in Jenin. While no formal
announcement was made, Israeli forces forcibly displaced residents at
gunpoint, particularly in the Airport and Hanoune Square neighborhoods.

Snipers occupied high-rise buildings, electricity was cut off, and
hospitals – Martyr Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital and Al-Israa
Specialized Hospital – were besieged, obstructing emergency medical
services.

Israeli bulldozers continued destroying infrastructure while checkpoints
and roadblocks choked off movement across the occupied West Bank. In total,
898 military checkpoints and barriers, including 18 newly installed iron
gates, now restrict Palestinian movement. The scale of destruction in
Tulkarem, including widespread home demolitions and road closures, mirrors
Jenin’s fate.

With the expansion of military operations, Israel’s “Iron Wall” strategy
has begun to take shape in the occupied West Bank. If this campaign is
indeed a smaller-scale replication of “Iron Swords,” then it signals what
has long been suspected: a methodical effort in collaboration with the PA
to crush resistance through siege, displacement, and destruction.

The question is no longer whether the occupation intends to remain in the
occupied West Bank – it is how much of it they intend to swallow.
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