Tensions between Israel and Palestinian authorities intensified following a deadly clash on the West Bank, with the deteriorating situation threatening to overshadow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip next week.
(Bloomberg) —
Tensions between Israel and Palestinian authorities intensified following a deadly clash on the West Bank, with the deteriorating situation threatening to overshadow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip next week.
A gun fight with Israeli soldiers in the city of Jenin on Thursday left eight militants and one civilian dead. It was one of the highest daily death tolls in the West Bank in years and sparked retaliatory attacks from both sides, which didn’t cause fresh casualties. The violence adds to domestic tensions and creates a difficult backdrop for Blinken’s visit to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new administration.
“The international community and the US are watching Israel because of the new government,” said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Hebrew University. “It’s a more extremist right-wing government than Israel has ever had.”
Netanyahu’s coalition government was sworn in a month ago after pledging to implement policies such as loosening open-fire rules for some security forces. The new administration, which includes some far-right figures, has also proposed expanding or building more settlements in the West Bank, where Palestinians are seeking to establish an independent state.
Hamas — the Islamic movement that rules Gaza — warned Israel would “pay the price for the massacre” in Jenin. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian government body, cut security ties with Israel, a move he’s threatened for years but hasn’t carried out until now.
“The situation is headed for a wider confrontation,” said Jehad Harb, a researcher at the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. End of security ties “will push the youth into more confrontation with the Israeli side.”
Fighting may remain at a low level. So far the reprisals follow a familiar playbook of a show of force often without casualties. And while security coordination has been helpful in the past, it hasn’t always been critical to the situation on the ground, said Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the UN and former director general of the foreign ministry.
After the clash in Jenin, Palestinian militants fired a number of rockets — one hit an open area, one was intercepted and another fell inside the Gaza Strip. No one claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The Israeli air force hit back with air strikes on rocket manufacturing sites in Gaza.
“The Palestinians hope that pressure that will be exerted on the Israelis also by Blinken and we will see what Blinken is able to achieve,” Harb said.
For Netanyahu’s government, the tension with Palestinians adds to social unrest. Tens of thousands of Israelis are expected to rally on Saturday to protest an overhaul of the justice system that opponents view as undemocratic and a potential blow to the economy.
The Israeli army said the violence on Thursday broke out as security forces entered the Jenin refugee camp to arrest members of Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based militant group, who it said were planning multiple terror attacks including the shooting of soldiers and civilians. The incident prompted a rare rebuke from Germany’s ambassador to Israel, who said he was “worried” by the casualties.
Egypt, the United Nations, and Qatar are mediating in a bid to prevent an escalation, according to a statement from Islamic Jihad. The United Arab Emirates, which established diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, condemned the Israeli raid.
Another Palestinian was killed in a clash elsewhere in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Border Patrols
Israeli fighter jets early Friday carried out a series of airstrikes on facilities belonging to militant groups in the Gaza Strip in response, including a Hamas underground manufacturing facility, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Overnight, the Israeli army said three rockets fired from Gaza were intercepted by air defenses, while another fell in a unpopulated area in southern Israel.
Palestinian eyewitnesses said that more than 14 missiles were fired at a military post that belongs to Gaza militant groups. Palestinian medical sources said that no injuries were reported during the strikes.
There were few signs of de-escalation. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed security forces to increase activity in the West Bank and along Israel’s borders, including the Gaza Strip.
“Our security forces are prepared for any development,” he said in a statement from his office.
(Updates with comment in seventh paragraph)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.