A spokesman for the National Security Council, which advises the U.S. president, released a statement on Monday from the White House about Israel’s current operation in Jenin.
“We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups,” it stated.
The council added that it is monitoring the situation closely.
“We have no intention of occupying the refugee camp, and this is not an operation against the Palestinian Authority,” stated Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces. “We will create a sequence of operations in the northern part of the West Bank.”
Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States, described Jenin as “a major hub of terrorism and an Iranian stronghold close to Israeli population centers.”
“No nation would sit idly by as terrorists strike its citizens,” he said.