Israeli forces exit West Bank’s Jenin after major operation

Israeli forces pulled out of the Palestinian city of Jenin on Friday, leaving a mass of damaged buildings and infrastructure, following one of the biggest security operations in the occupied West Bank in months.

Road diggers began clearing piles of debris and rubble left by the operation, which involved hundreds of troops and police backed by helicopters and drones entering all areas of the city and the adjacent refugee camp as well as surrounding villages.

Thousands of residents were displaced from their homes during the nine-day operation, during which troops fought running gun battles with Palestinian fighters from factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Fatah.

“When they entered, they used bulldozers and began destroying everything. They left nothing,” said Jenin resident Samaher Abu Nassa.

Water and electricity services remain cut and around 20 km of roadway was dug up by Israeli bulldozers, a tactic the military said was aimed at neutralizing roadside bombs but which has ripped up much of the centre of the city.

A statement from the military said 30 explosives planted under the roads had been dismantled. The Palestinian foreign ministry accused the military of transferring the tactics used to level the Gaza Strip into the West Bank.

Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, has long been a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions, and the Israeli military said the operation, which also targeted the city of Tulkarm, was aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed militant groups planning attacks on Israeli civilians.