Occupation forces increasingly concerned about resistance in Jenin

Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank warned on Sunday that Jenin could become the capital of Palestinian resistance once again, stressing that this scenario is now a cause of concern for the military.

In remarks that were quoted by Israeli newspaper Maariv, an Israeli officer pointed to the rise of operations that targeted occupation forces while they are carrying out arrests. The latest such case took place during the raid against Al-Qassam Brigades activist Hamza Abu Hija and two of his comrades in the Jenin refugee camp at dawn on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted Israeli military sources as saying that the Palestinian militants in Jenin are becoming the leaders of the resistance in Jenin, similar to how Jenin, Nablus and Hebron were all resistance strongholds before the invasion of the West Bank in early 2002 in the context of “Operation Defensive Shield”.

Maariv stated that the Jenin refugee camp returned to the spotlight recently after Islam Tobasi, an Islamic Jihad activist, was killed last September, and another Palestinian was killed in an armed confrontation in December of last year.

The newspaper added that while the detentions are running smoothly in the rest of the West Bank, the situation in the Jenin refugee camp is different: the military forces are repeatedly facing violent and armed confrontations wherein occupation forces are attacked by militants carrying small arms, light weapons and IEDs.

Maariv also pointed out that during the arrests carried out in Jenin, it takes residents only a few seconds to gather by the hundreds around occupation forces to besiege them.

Informed sources at the occupation’s regional Central Command, which is responsible for Israeli units and brigades located in the West Bank, believe that operations in the Jenin refugee camp will no longer pass smoothly as they had done in recent months.

Another officer in the Central Command asserted that Jenin has turned into the most dangerous and worrying area in the West Bank. The Central Command leadership is kept on high alert and expects emergencies to occur every time occupation forces carry out operations inside the camp. The source noted that while arrests usually take place smoothly elsewhere without the occurrence of deaths, the situation is different in Jenin.

The Israeli army stated that its forces that took part in the assassination of Al-Hija at dawn on Saturday faced vigorous resistance.

Source: Arab 48 + Agencies