Many countries have expressed concern about the Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the West Bank in recent days, especially after the incident at the refugee camp in Jenin.
 |
| An Israeli armored vehicle in the Jenin area on July 4. (Source: Times of Israel) |
On the night of July 4, Israeli media quoted defense sources as saying that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had begun withdrawing from the city of Jenin in the West Bank after 44 hours of launching a military operation in the area.
Meanwhile, Palestinian media reported that there were still some sporadic clashes between the IDF and Palestinian gunmen in the area. According to the Palestinian Authority's health department, a total of 12 people were killed and more than 100 were injured, including 20 seriously.
The IDF said it had arrested and questioned 300 people and detained only 30 suspects. The IDF destroyed eight weapons “stores,” six explosives “laboratories,” and three “operations rooms” used by Palestinian militants. The forces also seized 24 rifles, eight pistols, and a large amount of ammunition.
* On the same day, the IDF announced: “Five rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory. The IDF air defense unit successfully intercepted all of these rockets.” No Palestinian party has yet claimed responsibility for this incident.
* On the afternoon of July 4, the Israeli security agency Shin Bet also prevented a "terrorist attack" in northern Tel Aviv. Specifically, a Palestinian drove a pickup truck into pedestrians on the sidewalk on Pinchas Rosen Street, then got out of the car and stabbed others. The Palestinian was later shot dead by an armed civilian. The incident left 7 people injured, 4 of whom were seriously injured.
According to Shin Bet, the perpetrator was Abed al-Wahab Khalila, 20, from the town of as-Samu, in the southern West Bank, near Hebron. He did not have a permit to enter Israel. The Islamic movement Hamas claimed responsibility, saying the attack was carried out by a Palestinian member in retaliation for Israel's operation in Jenin.
* On the same day, Hezbollah and its ally Amal Movement in Lebanon issued a joint statement on July 4 criticizing “Israel’s repeated and aggressive actions at multiple locations on the border with Beirut.” The two Shi’ite jihadist groups also welcomed “the heroic resistance fighters in Jenin and the Palestinian people.”
Two months ago, a group of Hezbollah fighters erected two tents and stationed them right on the Green Line, the Israel-Lebanon border. Because these two tents were erected on Israeli soil, the Jewish State used communication channels to exert pressure, even threatening to use force to remove them. However, Hezbollah also declared that it would not move the two tents and soldiers and was ready for tension if Israel wanted it to do so.
* Also on July 4, many countries expressed concern about the Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the West Bank, especially the attack on the refugee camp in Jenin, which killed 10 Palestinians and injured more than 50 others. The escalating unrest in Jenin forced hundreds of Palestinian families to leave their homes. Jenin Deputy Mayor Mohammed Jarrar said that many houses and infrastructure were destroyed while electricity and water in Jenin Camp were cut off.
Speaking on the same day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stressed: “The recent incidents in the occupied West Bank and the car crash in Tel Aviv are becoming an all too familiar sequence of events. It is important to remember that violence begets violence. There must be an immediate end to killings, injuries and destruction of property.” According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Israeli operation in Jenin in the West Bank raises serious issues related to international human rights standards and norms. According to him, forces in the West Bank need to comply with international human rights norms when using force.
Meanwhile, in response to questions from members of parliament, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reaffirmed Britain's support for Israel's right to self-defense and condemned "terrorist attacks" by Palestinians. However, he stressed that the protection of civilians must be a priority in any military operation and called on the IDF to "exercise restraint in its operations and for all parties to avoid further escalation in both the West Bank and Gaza, both now and in the days ahead." In addition, Mr. Sunak said the UK "also calls on Israel to ensure the principles of necessity and proportionality when protecting its legitimate security interests."
For its part, Bangladesh has condemned the Israeli attack. The country’s Foreign Ministry “reaffirms its absolute rejection of Israel’s repeated attacks against Palestinians, resulting in loss of civilian lives, through indiscriminate and excessive use of force.”
Dhaka also firmly supports the Palestinian people's undeniable rights to an independent and sovereign state, supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and calls for international efforts to end the conflict, bring the two sides to negotiations to restore the Middle East Peace Process.
Speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian situation, the German Foreign Ministry said it was following the latest outbreak of violence in the region with “great concern”. It stressed, however, that “Israel, like every other state, has the right to defend itself against terrorism”. However, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that Israel “must adhere to the principle of proportionality in international law” in the Jenin camp issue.
Source
Comment (0)