Dubbed The Iron Wall, the Israeli military operation was launched on Tuesday, involving scores of army vehicles and bulldozers, backed by helicopters and drones.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by the Israeli army amid a military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp for the fourth consecutive day.
“The Israeli army began clearing entire neighborhoods in the camp after their attack,” a Palestinian woman, who declined to be named, told the Anadolu news agency.
The Israeli army is conducting ethnic cleansing of the Jenin refugee camp forcing families to leave their homes after subjecting them to humiliating searches and violations. pic.twitter.com/baOKsJJ3af
— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) January 24, 2025
No Water, Electricity
She said Israeli forces have destroyed homes, streets and essential infrastructure in the camp during its deadly onslaught.
“The situation in the camp is extremely difficult amid the violent assault,” she said, adding that water, electricity, and communication networks have been severed.
🚨🇵🇸🇮🇱 Israeli bulldozers continue to DESTROY neighbourhoods in Jenin!
[Follow @S2FUncensored] pic.twitter.com/x5Y2N8X24V
— The Saviour (@stairwayto3dom) January 24, 2025
The Reuters news agency cited witnesses on Thursday who said residents were forced to leave their homes, prompted by messages from Israeli drones fitted with loudspeakers.
“Yesterday, we did not want to leave, we were at home,” Reuters quoted 16-year-old Hussam Saadi.
“Today, they sent down a drone to our neighborhood, telling us to leave the camp and that they will blow it up,” he said.
Infrastructure Bulldozed
The news agency said Israel denied that it had told residents to leave their homes, instead stating that it was “enabling any resident who chooses to exit from the area to do so via secure and organized routes with the protection of Israeli security forces.”
Dubbed The Iron Wall, the military operation was launched on Tuesday, involving scores of army vehicles and bulldozers, backed by helicopters and drones.
lsrael’s mass military operation continues in Jenin for the fourth day in a row. pic.twitter.com/D3bQXaBAZL
— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) January 24, 2025
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli drones have been dropping explosives on the Jenin refugee camp, causing significant panic and destruction.
Since the early hours of Friday morning, the Israeli occupation forces bulldozed sections of Haifa Street in Jenin and the entrances to the towns of Al-Yamoun and Silat Al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, effectively blocking the escape routes of displaced residents heading to nearby villages, the agency reported.
The assault on Jenin city, its refugee camp, and the nearby town of Burqin has resulted in the killing of 12 Palestinian citizens and the injury of dozens of others. The destruction has left extensive damage to infrastructure, compounding the suffering of residents.
UNRWA’s Concerns
Roland Friedrich, the Director of UNRWA Affairs for the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, noted that Jenin camp “is nearly uninhabitable, with with some 2,000 families displaced since mid-December.”
The operation comes merely a week before implementation of Israeli legislation that severely undermines @UNRWA’s operations in the #WestBank, including coordination of humanitarian access. It also threatens to undermine the fragile ceasefire reached just days ago in #Gaza. (3/3)
— Roland Friedrich (@GRFriedrich) January 22, 2025
“UNRWA has been unable to provide full services to the camp in this time,” Friedrich stated.
He said Israel’s military operation “threatens to undermine the fragile ceasefire reached just days ago in Gaza.”
Jericho
Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces have continued their blockade of the entrances to the Jericho province, east of the occupied West Bank, for the sixth consecutive day, preventing residents from leaving the area, reported WAFA.
Israeli soldiers stationed at military checkpoints at both main and secondary entrances to Jericho barred Palestinian vehicles from passing. They also pursued several vehicles at multiple roads in the province, causing severe traffic jams.
Yesterday evening, we drove to some of the checkpoints surrounding Bethlehem. Like Bethlehem, Salfit, Nablus, Jericho, Ramallah, Hebron, and more endure an attempt to suffocate Palestinians into submission to the zionist settler colonial project. pic.twitter.com/JOtQ4RT0TY
— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) January 23, 2025
At the southern entrance to Jericho city, they fired stun grenades at vehicles, but no injuries were reported, according to WAFA.
Israeli occupation forces also set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Fasayil, north of Jericho, where they searched vehicles, checked IDs, and restricted passage to local residents only.
A group of illegal Jewish settlers stormed the summit of Mount Quruntul, southwest of Jericho, as part of ongoing attacks on the city’s historical and tourist landmarks, reported WAFA.
Nablus
Several Palestinians suffered from tear gas suffocation on Friday during confrontations that erupted following an Israeli military raid on the town of Beita, south of Nablus, according to WAFA, citing local sources.
Israeli occupation forces storm the town of Qusra, south of Nablus city. pic.twitter.com/LzOJpvv0RD
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 24, 2025
Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters at residents, resulting in multiple cases of suffocation due to tear gas inhalation, the report noted.
Settler Violence
According to local sources, a group of illegal settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, stormed the area surrounding Mount Arma near Beita town.
The town of Beita has been a frequent target of Israeli military raids and settler violence, particularly since the establishment of the illegal Avitar outpost on privately owned Palestinian land atop Mount Sabih, WAFA reported.
WEST BANK | Israeli forces raided Beita, south of Nablus, firing sound and smoke bombs, causing suffocation injuries. The blockade on Jericho continues for a sixth day, with soldiers preventing exits and causing traffic jams. Additionally, Israeli troops raided Bani Naim, east of… https://t.co/aXICeqjdz4
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) January 24, 2025
On September 6, 2024, Israeli forces killed 26-year-old Turkish-American activist, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, while she was taking part in the anti-colonies peaceful protest organized by Beita residents.
The activist is one of 18 others killed in Beita since the establishment of the Avitar outpost in May 2021.
Residents have been staging weekly rallies in protest of Israeli colonial expansion atop Jabal Sabih.
Escalations Since Ceasefire
Since the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip came into effect last Sunday, Israeli occupation authorities have intensified restrictions across the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli apartheid regime is continuing to kill Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians have been so dehumanized that it hasn’t even made headlines. The ethnic cleansing has not ended. They will never stop until there’s an arms embargo. https://t.co/yrpQNfLtNJ
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 24, 2025
These measures include the erection of checkpoints and metal gates at entrances to Palestinian cities and villages.
According to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the number of Israeli military checkpoints and gates in the West Bank has reached 898, including 18 gates installed since the beginning of 2025 and 146 gates erected after October 7, 2023, WAFA reported.
(PC, WAFA, Anadolu)
