Jenin . A City out of Control

 The IDF may have no choice but to recommend to the Cabinet the launch of a wide-scale operation in the terror hotbed.

The fact that the Israel Defense Forces needed to call in air support for ground forces in Jenin this week is a signal of a significant escalation in this Palestinian city, which has become a hornet’s nest of terrorism.

 The use of air support is a statement on the character of the combat in Samaria, with what should be a standard security operation becoming entangled and turning into a messy escalation.  

Four Palestinians were killed and several IDF soldiers were wounded in intense exchanges of fire which began when IDF and Border Police units entered Jenin camp to capture two security suspects.

A powerful explosive device damaged an armored IDF vehicle as the Israeli force was leaving, wounding Israeli personnel. The IDF decided to evacuate the injured via helicopter, but the aircraft came under fire, and that is when commanders decided to call in air support. A helicopter gunship fired on gunmen to enable the extraction of the Israeli forces, according to the Israeli military.  

 Large-scale exchanges of fire between Palestinian gunmen in the IDF and large numbers of bombs were hurled during the clash, according to the Israeli military.

Zooming out from this event, it is clear that Jenin is out of control, and that as time goes by, the chances of a larger-scale IDF operation there are growing.

The Palestinian Authority is non-existent in the city despite nominally being in control there, and the area has turned into an active terror hub, not only for local terrorists, but also for those from other areas of Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank.

Recently, it is likely that several such terrorists fled to Jenin after attacking Israeli civilians or soldiers in other areas, viewing it as a safe haven. Large quantities of firearms are also flowing into the city, an arsenal of weaponry is amassing there.

It is left to the IDF to repress the terrorist activity.

Within Jenin, localized terror factions that call themselves “the Jenin battalions” work in cooperation with established terror organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both of which maintain a strong presence in the city.