Israeli soldiers withdrew from the Jenin camp after a deadly attack, an army spokesman said | World news

Israeli forces began withdrawing from a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, an army spokesman said, after nearly two days of large-scale military operations in the area. that killed 12 Palestinians.

The attack on the Jenin refugee camp, launched early Monday under the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has killed hundreds of soldiers as well as drone strikes and army bulldozers tearing up roads.

Elsewhere a car ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv injured seven people before the suspect was shot dead on the second day of Israel’s largest military operation of the year in the occupied West Bank.

“Israeli forces have started withdrawing from the Jenin camp,” an army spokesman told AFP on Tuesday night, without giving further details.

Hours ago, explosions were heard from the camp and a boat lifted off, an AFP reporter reported.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 12 since the start of the offensive that displaced them from their homes.

“In the last five years, this is the worst attack,” said Qasem Benighader, a nurse at a hospital morgue.

The army said its forces had dismantled six explosives-making facilities, three operational rooms in Jenin and seized heavy weapons.

“The weapons are in storage, a mosque, hidden holes in civilian areas, work rooms, and in vehicles,” he said.

The army said it had opened army depots, ammunition depots and underground bunkers used to store weapons.

– ‘Leave the world’ –

During a visit to a military base near Jenin, Netanyahu vowed to “cool terrorism”.

“We will not allow Jenin to return to being a safe city for terrorism.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry labeled the escalation “an open war against the people of Jenin”.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders also condemned the Israeli army for firing tear gas inside the Khalil Suleiman hospital in Jenin, calling it “unacceptable”.

On Tuesday, shops in Jenin remained closed amid a general strike and empty streets littered with debris and burnt roadblocks.

The army said it did not intend to stay in the camp of about 18,000 people but was ready for a long fight.

“The most serious danger is what happened in the camp, where there is no electricity, no water, and no roads for those who need to go to the hospital,” Jenin Mayor Nidal Abu Saleh told AFP.

About 3,000 people have fled their homes in the refugee camp, Jenin’s deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Roub, said.

Imad Jabarin, one of those leaving the collapsed camp said that “every aspect of life has been destroyed, there is no electricity and communication…

The West Bank has seen recent attacks on Israelis as well as Jewish settler violence targeting Palestinians.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has worsened since the beginning of last year, and has escalated further under the Netanyahu government which includes far-right allies.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, meanwhile, hailed the “heroic” attack in Tel Aviv as “the first response to the atrocities against our people in the Jenin camp”.

The driver in Tel Aviv is thought to have deliberately hit several pedestrians on a shopping street before getting out of the vehicle to “stab the public with a sharp object,” police said.

The “terrorist”, a West Bank resident, was shot dead by a passing civilian, police chief Yaakov Shabtai said.

– ‘Add domains’ –

The United Nations condemned the violence in Tel Aviv and Jenin.

“The killing, injury and destruction of property must stop,” said UN rights chief Volker Turk.

The United States says its friend Israel has the right to “defend its people against … terrorist groups” but calls for the protection of civilians.

In the Israeli-blocked Gaza Strip, protesters burned tires near the border wall with Israel.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six Day War of 1967.

Apart from East Jerusalem, the area is now home to around 490,000 Israelis in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

The Palestinians, who seek their own independent state, want Israel to withdraw from all the land it took in 1967 and to dismantle all Jewish settlements.

Netanyahu, however, has pledged to “strengthen settlements” and has shown no interest in reviving peace talks, which have been stalled since 2014.

At least 190 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed this year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources from both sides.

They include, on the Palestinian side, soldiers and civilians, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians and members of the Arab League.