Netanyahu alludes to the approaching end of the military operation in Jenin

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s large-scale military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank could soon be over. “In these moments, we will complete the mission,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday, according to media reports, while visiting a military post near Jenin. Nevertheless, he made it clear that the action was “not a one-time process, we will continue as long as it takes”.

It was initially unclear exactly when the soldiers would withdraw from the Palestinian city, which is considered a stronghold of militant Islamists. According to Palestinian reports, the military operation continued into the evening. Shots and explosions could still be heard in the city. There is also said to have been a firefight near a hospital, in which three people were injured. The military said only that the effort to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure will “take as long as it takes”.

On Monday evening, Israel began one of the largest military operations in the West Bank in decades. After several airstrikes, the army entered the Palestinian city of Jenin with about a thousand soldiers. Since then, the army has exchanged fire with armed residents on several occasions. At least eleven people were killed and more than 100 others were injured.

Defense Minister Joav Galant, who was there with Netanyahu, said Jenin has become a “production site for terrorism” in the past two years. This is now over. In recent years, residents of the city have carried out several attacks on Israelis. (sda/dpa)