Tel aviv: The US Embassy's Fourth of July celebration was held in Jerusalem on Monday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the crowd there, stating that Israel's military operation in Jenin is intended to stop terrorism and will last however long is required to do so.
He asserted that the West Bank militants were "the most legitimate target on the planet - people who would annihilate our country," and that Jenin had recently turned into a haven for terrorist activity. From this haven, he claimed, vicious attacks against Israeli men, women, and children had originated.
Netanyahu would not specify when the operation would end, only saying that it would "continue as long as it takes to complete the mission." He added that Israel was utilising its "right to self-defense" in Palestinian territory while "doing everything to avoid civilian casualties".
With airstrikes and raids on what it claimed to be terrorist infrastructure "located next to schools, a medical centre, and civilian houses," including a "joint headquarters for multiple armed groups," the IDF launched its largest incursion into the Jenin refugee camp since the Second Intifada early on Monday.
As a result of Israel's failure to uphold security agreements that the two governments had signed earlier this year, the Palestinian Authority decided to cut off contact and meetings with Israel and restrict its communications with the US following an emergency meeting of Palestinian leaders in Ramallah.
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In response to the most recent attack and Israel's ongoing violations of international law, the PA urged the UN to protect the Palestinians and impose sanctions on the country.
The operation was also "strongly condemned" by the UAE and Egypt and drew the ire of UN and EU organisations tasked with bringing about peace in Israel and Palestine. According to the US State Department, they are "closely monitoring the situation."
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Israeli forces have repeatedly raided Jenin in recent months, alleging that terrorist organisations were operating out of the city. Despite acknowledging that one attack on a border city would not "end the problem of terror for the State of Israel or from Jenin," IDF Central Commander Maj.Gen. Yehuda Fuchs insisted that "something more significant" than the usual responses had been required.
According to a diplomatic source in Israel, the US was informed about ten days ago that the IDF planned to conduct an anti-terror mission in Jenin and had agreed to the plan. According to the source, the invasion was a last-ditch effort and Israel had waited two years for the Palestinian Authority to control the terrorists, but in the end "there was no avoiding a more focused operation."
