Videos circulated on social media of a large number of Israeli military vehicles entering the Jenin camp, where the Israel Defense Forces confirmed it was targeting terrorist infrastructure.
“The Jenin Camp is a terrorist stronghold,” the IDF tweeted. “We will not stand by idle while terrorists continue to harm civilians using Jenin Camp as a hideout.” It shared a video with further context.
Israel Nitzan, acting consul general in the Consulate General of Israel in New York, called the operation, which has been named Home and Garden (Bayit V’gan), an “extensive counterterrorism effort.”
Nitzan added that the IDF struck “a joint terrorist operations center, which served as the joint operational command center for the Jenin Camp and terrorist operatives of the ‘Jenin Brigade.’”
Terrorists would gather before and after attacks in the command center, which sheltered those wanted in terror attacks, Nitzan stated. It is also a “site for weapons and explosives” and “a hub for coordination and communication among the terrorists.”
The terrorist operations center is located mere steps from a hospital, a school and a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school, per a map that Nitzan shared.
“Iran continues to arm, train and finance terrorists in Judea and Samaria,” tweeted Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.). “I wholeheartedly support Israel’s right to self defense and will continue fighting against the mullahs in Iran supporting these terrorists.”
Joe Truzman, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, wrote that the Israeli operation in Jenin wasn’t unexpected.
“Militant groups backed by Iran have been fomenting chaos in the West Bank for more than two years,” he said. “Israeli authorities recognized that the situation was becoming critical, and thus made the decision to take action.”
Israel’s military operation in Jenin tonight is the direct result of Iranian efforts to arm and train West Bank terror groups. With no other actor willing or able to dismantle them, the IDF has been left with little choice. One can only hope this operation is short and effective.
— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) July 2, 2023
The @IDF launched an operation against Palestinian terror infrastructure in the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Over the past two years, Jenin has become a major hub of terrorism and an Iranian stronghold close to Israeli population centers. Most of the terror attacks against…
— Ambassador Michael Herzog (@AmbHerzog) July 3, 2023
Why is the @IDF striking Jenin right now? The Palestinian Authority has lost effective control over Jenin and it has become a terrorist stronghold. Most of the terrorist attacks targeting Israeli civilians originated from Jenin. Every country would do the same to protect its… https://t.co/2w5ty8Tpsx
— Elad Strohmayer (@EladStr) July 2, 2023
Videos that circulated purported to show airstrikes, fires and gunmen mobilizing. There are reports of at least one person—and perhaps three—killed and of injuries.
