Drones bomb Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas as the military begins major assault

Israel launched a large military offensive in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, attacking at least three cities from land and air.

Israeli air strikes hit Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas as troops opened fire at Palestinians on the ground.

At least nine Palestinians were killed in the Israel air strikes and from gunfire, according to an initial estimate by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The assault began just after midnight local time (09:00 PM GMT) after undercover Israeli soldiers entered the Jenin refugee camp and the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm.

Large Israeli forces then raided the two cities and surrounded hospitals, preventing paramedics from reaching them, according to PRCS

Israeli paratroopers parachuted into Tubas and led the assault there, particularly in the Far’a refugee camp, according to Israeli Channel 14

A siege has been imposed on the three cities - Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas - in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli military said it was carrying out a large “counter-terror” operation in Jenin and Tulkarm without elaborating further.

According to Israeli media, a military division is involved in the offensive, including ground troops and the air force.

The assault is the largest conducted by the Israeli military since the 2002 “Defensive Shield” attack at the height of the Second Intifada, according to Israeli Kan News public broadcaster.

Palestinian armed groups in the targeted West Bank cities, including the local chapters of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, said their members were confronting Israeli troops in fire exchanges and using explosive devices

  • Keeponstalin@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    42·
    4 months ago

    There is a difference between the victims of occupation and the perpetrators of occupation. Only one side is doing genocide, and the US is still arming that side

    UNGA Resolution 3314 (1974) affirmed the right of self-determination, freedom, and independence for all “peoples under colonial and racist regimes or other forms of alien domination,” and affirmed the “right of these peoples to struggle to that end and to seek and receive support.”[1]

    UNGA Resolution 37/43 (1982) reaffirmed the “inalienable right” of the Palestinian people “and all peoples under foreign and colonial domination” to self-determination. It also reaffirmed the legitimacy of “the struggle of peoples for […] liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle.”[2]

    This applies to military targets, not civilians.

    “The Court was clear and unambiguous, and the advisory opinion entails international legal obligations not only for Israel, but for the UN and all States,” said Navi Pillay, the Chair of the Commission. “The maintenance and promotion of the international rules-based order will depend on compliance with this advisory opinion.”

    In September 2022, in its report to the General Assembly (A/77/328), the Commission concluded that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory was unlawful under international law owing to its permanence and to actions undertaking by Israel to annex parts of the land de facto and de jure. The Commission stated that the permanent occupation and annexation by Israel could not remain unaddressed.