Thursday, Jan. 26 saw the deadliest raids by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in the occupied West Bank in years. The IDF killed nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, and injured 20 in the city of Jenin. Israeli forces also shot one 22-year-old Palestinian man in Al-Ram, a town north of Jerusalem, that same day. No Israelis were injured.
The raid took place before dawn and targeted Islamic Jihad fighters in the Jenin refugee camp, according to Israeli officials. Palestinian sources also claimed that Israeli soldiers fired tear gas into a children’s ward at a nearby hospital and blocked ambulances from providing care to injured people in the refugee camp area.
The next day, Jan. 27, which was also Holocaust Remembrance Day, a Palestinian shooter killed seven Israeli settlers and injured three in the Neve Yaakov settlement in East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, including Neve Yaakov, are considered illegal under international law.
Earlier reports that the shooter fired at people as they left a synagogue has since been disputed. The gunman was shot and killed by Israeli police as he tried to flee the scene.
The events of Thursday and Friday prompted Palestinian officials to cut off security cooperation with Israel, and Israeli officials to announce plans to immediately strengthen Israeli settlements, expedite and expand the process to obtain firearms for Israeli citizens and seal and demolish the Palestinian shooter’s home.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called on the U.N. to intervene on behalf of the Palestinian people, and France, China and the UAE asked for a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the escalation of violence. Addressing the public after the Neve Yaakov shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “Our response will be swift, strong, and precise.”
Speaking in support of the killings in Jenin, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said “any terrorist who tries to harm our personnel should know that his blood is forfeit.”
The violence of the past few days stands against the backdrop of the election of the most extreme right-wing coalition in Israeli history, which has caused many from the international community to voice concern over the escalation of violence.
Israeli forces killed over 150 Palestinians in 2022, the highest death toll since 2005 according to the U.N. In this year alone, at least 32 Palestinians have been killed, putting 2023 on track to be even deadlier. Friday was the deadliest single day for Israelis since 2008.
Since Friday, several more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and over 140 settler attacks on Palestinians or their property have been reported. On Saturday, Jan. 28, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy also shot two Israeli settlers in Jerusalem.
Amidst the escalation, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Jerusalem today on an official visit. Blinken has met with Netanyahu and is expected to meet additional Israeli and Palestinian officials in the coming days.
