What is Israel’s deadly ‘Iron Wall’ military raid in the West Bank’s Jenin?

Since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect on Sunday, Israeli security forces and settler groups have launched attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Settler attacks erupted almost immediately after the ceasefire began, with reports that Israeli far-right extremists targeted the homes of some of the released Palestinian women and child prisoners. Other Palestinian homes also appeared to be randomly attacked.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military launched an operation called "Iron Wall" in the city of Jenin and the nearby Jenin refugee camp. This military assault came after weeks of raids on the Jenin refugee camp by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces, which targeted local Palestinian armed groups, purportedly to restore law and order, but which many Palestinians saw as a crackdown on independent Palestinian armed groups resisting the Israeli occupation.

The Israeli military's attacks in Jenin have resulted in 12 deaths, with 10 of those deaths occurring during Tuesday's raids throughout the Jenin province and two more on Wednesday night. It remains unclear how many of Tuesday's fatalities were civilians, but a statement from the Palestinian Authority said that Israeli forces "opened fire on civilians and security forces, leading to the injury of several civilians and some security personnel." The PA added that at least 35 people were wounded. Wednesday's deaths occurred in the town of Burqin, west of Jenin City. The Palestinian news outlet, Al-Quds Today, reported that Muhammad Abu Asaad and Qutaiba Shalabi were killed in "armed clashes with the [Israeli] occupation forces." Hamas' armed wing said that the two were members of Hamas, but the Israeli military said they were affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Meanwhile, at least 21 Palestinians have been wounded in attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the ceasefire began on Sunday.

Settler violence appeared to be concentrated in at least six villages: Sinjil, Turmus Ayya, Ein Siniya, and Al-Lubban al-Sharqiya (near Ramallah) and Fanduk and Qinsafout (both near Nablus). According to The Guardian, these six villages were identified as the homes of women and children released by the Israeli government as part of the ceasefire agreement. In Jenin City, the army surrounded the government-run hospital and the nearby refugee camp, reportedly ordering hundreds to evacuate. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described the Jenin operation as a "shift in security strategy" and said it was part of Israel's military plan in the occupied West Bank, a "first lesson learned from the method of repeated attacks from Gaza." The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said they were prevented by the Israeli military from accessing the wounded and the bodies of the dead.

Israel has long accused Iran of funneling weapons to armed groups in Jenin, particularly its refugee camp. Jenin has long been a hotbed of Palestinian resistance, with the rise of the independent armed group, the Jenin Brigade, particularly concerning to Israel. In December, the Palestinian Authority launched what was reportedly its largest and most violent crackdown on armed groups in the West Bank since being ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007. Many analysts believe the PA is "positioning itself as the natural administrator of a post-war Gaza," but it has been accused of replicating the tactics used by Israeli forces in past raids in Jenin and elsewhere: surrounding refugee camps with armored personnel carriers, firing indiscriminately on civilians, arbitrarily detaining and abusing young men, and cutting off water and electricity to civilians within the camps. Prior to the PA raids, the Israeli military had raided Jenin numerous times. Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israel during a raid in May 2022. Israel raided Jenin in July 2023, prior to the outbreak of the war in Gaza. In that raid, Israeli forces killed 12 people and wounded around 100, one of the most significant casualties since the infamous military operation during the second intifada in 2002. In that raid, 52 Palestinians, half of whom were civilians, and 23 attacking Israeli soldiers were killed. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Israel of committing war crimes in the 2002 raid.

While the bulk of the Israeli military is stationed in Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli settlers have launched the most violent year of attacks on record in the West Bank. "The ceasefire is not enough for Israelis," said Murad Jadallah of the human rights organization Al-Haq in Ramallah, in the West Bank. "The hostage deal did not make them feel like they achieved the victory they were promised," he added, suggesting that the consequences of apparent disappointment after more than 47,000 deaths are now playing out in the West Bank and Jenin. According to statistics from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli settlers have launched at least 1,860 attacks since October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas-led attack on Israel, through December 31, 2024. "This doesn't look like a ceasefire," said Shai Panes of the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem to Al Jazeera. "Since Israel and Hamas announced a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and reached an agreement for the release of hostages and prisoners, Israel has intensified its violence against Palestinians in the West Bank." Panes added: "Far from stopping its attacks on Palestinians, Israel's actions show that it has no intention of doing so. Instead, it is simply shifting its attention from Gaza to other areas it controls in the West Bank."

Factors including the far-right makeup of the Israeli government, as well as the rise of the overwhelmingly pro-Israel administration of US President Donald Trump, are forecasting a difficult future for the West Bank. While Trump's predecessor, President Joe Biden, has made it clear that he supports Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed 47,283 people so far, his administration has expressed some concern over the unbridled violence being inflicted by settlers in the West Bank, which the Biden administration believes has the potential to destabilize the region. But Trump’s rescinding of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on settlers may be an early sign of what Israeli far-right extremists hope for - a more permissive US policy toward settler ambitions in the West Bank. Inside Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is finding himself facing a revolt from the right, with far-right nationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigning from Netanyahu’s coalition cabinet over the ceasefire agreement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has made no secret of his ambitions to annex the West Bank, remains in the government, but has pledged to resign if the ceasefire in Gaza leads to an end to the war. "Smotrich has more power and influence now than ever before," said Jadallah, referring to the negotiations to keep Smotrich in his post. "Ultimately, he wants to push out the Israeli Civil Administration and have the West Bank run completely by settlers," Jadallah added, detailing his view of the early steps towards a complete Israeli annexation of the West Bank. This new approach to the West Bank and its settlers was already beginning to appear before the ceasefire and the possibility of Trump’s presidency.

On Friday, Gallant announced that all remaining settlers being held under administrative detention, a procedure that allows for the indefinite detention of individuals without charge, would be released. Administrative detention is used primarily for Palestinian detainees, though it has been used on some Israelis previously. In releasing the settlers, Gallant wrote in a statement that "It is better that the families of Jewish settlers be happy than the families of released terrorists," referring to the Palestinian women and children released by Israel on Sunday as part of the ceasefire agreement.