Israeli Soldier, 2 Palestinians Killed During West Bank Firefight
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence in recent months as Israel has intensified raids following a wave of fatal Palestinian attacks
Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian gunmen and an Israel Defense Forces officer was killed on Wednesday in a pre-dawn clash in the northern West Bank.
An officer in the Palestinian Authority Security Services’ Military Intelligence unit was one of the perpetrators of the shooting attack at the Jalameh checkpoint east of Jenin, which serves as a major crossing for goods coming into the West Bank from Israel.
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence in recent months as Israel has intensified raids following a wave of fatal Palestinian attacks.
Almost every night, the Israeli army conducts military operations throughout the West Bank; some of those raids have turned deadly with several Palestinians killed in shootouts, and scores more arrested.
What makes these incidents different that they have occurred in an area in the West Bank that is witnessing a high and continuous military alert, experts say.
Jihad Harb, an expert on Palestinian affairs, told The Media Line that “all that we see now of an escalation is caused by the presence of the occupation.”
He said this presence includes: “the absence of a political horizon, the loss of the future of Palestinian youth and the Israeli occupation’s policy regarding settlements; the Judaization of Jerusalem and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque; not to mention the difficult economic conditions experienced by the Palestinian people as a result of the narrowing of the occupation.”
Harb warns that what is happening in the northern West Bank may “spread to other areas,” if the international community does not act quickly.
“The next phase is going to be difficult, and the West Bank is on the cusp of a dangerous escalation,” he said.
Dr. Ronni Shaked, coordinator of the Middle East Unit at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told The Media Line that “the nature of the conflict is a low-intensity conflict, and that means that the violence is an integral part of the conflict.”
The next phase is going to be difficult, and the West Bank is on the cusp of a dangerous escalation
Shaked says the political and economic situation have direct influence on security conditions on the ground.
“The new generation that was born after 2000 is a young generation that is much more educated, and life has not changed at all since they were born. The live in the same refugee camp, the same occupation, the same problems every day, and the same Palestinian regime that didn’t change, and there’s no hope for the future,” said Shaked, adding that they “know the two-state solution is an illusion.”
What we are witnessing now, says Shaked, “is exactly the same in as 1987,” in the lead up to the first intifada before it broke out, and “exactly similar to before the Al Aqsa second intifada, and exactly like in 2015 during the wave of stabbings.”
Shaked says that PA security forces’ loyalty to PA President Mahmoud Abbas exists because they are getting monthly salaries, and not because they “believe in his popular, peaceful resistance.”
“You have to understand one thing: We are talking about Palestinian society, the Palestinian officers who are working in the security forces are part of the Palestinian society, they have the same problems as others in Jenin or in Salfit, or in a refugee camp,” Shaked said.
The Jenin Brigade, a coalition of armed Palestinian factions, claimed the two dead gunmen as its members and confirmed they had killed an Israeli army officer.
The branch of the Fatah movement in Jenin praised the attack, calling both assailants “heroes.” The Fatah secretary in Jenin, Atta Abu Rumaila, said that “Palestine is an open arena for confrontation with the occupation.”
The armed Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both lauded the Israeli soldier’s death, but neither confirmed that its fighters were involved in the gun battle.
Last week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi criticized the Palestinian Authority security forces, saying that the increase in the number of attacks in the West Bank is due to its incompetence.
“The lack of governance of the Palestinian security forces in certain areas of the West Bank constitutes fertile ground for the growth of terrorism,” Kochavi said.
He also said that “around 1,500 wanted people were arrested and hundreds of attacks prevented” as a result of recent Israeli military raids.
Israeli media reported on Tuesday evening that a secret meeting was held between senior Israeli security officials and officials of the PA, including Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization; and Majed Faraj, head of Palestinian intelligence.
Since the beginning of the year, at least 90 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in nightly raids carried out by Israeli security forces in cities, towns and villages, making it the deadliest year since 2016. Deadly attacks killed 19 Israelis between mid-March and the beginning of May.
The Palestinian issue is no longer on the agenda of Israeli politicians, except on the security side, explains Harb.
“Security, yes, Israel has a desire for the Palestinian Authority to continue because it provides stability and alleviates security crises that may occur,” according to Harb.
Israel has called on the PA to crack down on flashpoints like Jenin. However, PA officials accuse Israel of having weakened their rule.
“These repeated incursions shook the authority’s standing in front of the street and made him lose confidence that it was able to protect him,” Harb said.
