Think tank: IDF use of helicopters in Jenin ‘harbinger’ of escalation

Israel’s need to use helicopters to evacuate wounded soldiers who were hit by an improvised explosive device in Jenin is an ominous sign, according to an analysis from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

It was the first Israeli airstrike in Judea and Samaria since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.

“Today’s Apache deployment in Jenin is a harbinger of more escalation to come, as Palestinian terrorist groups adapt to Israel’s security sweeps and devise ever more lethal countermeasures,” Mark Dubowitz, CEO of FDD, wrote in the June 19 analysis.

Dubowitz noted that an Israeli helicopter used flares, indicating that “the IDF believes the Palestinians may possess shoulder-fired missiles—itself a quantum leap in weaponry.”