Caroline Glick
Israel National News, July 3, 2023
“… unfortunately, the IDF doesn’t share the Netanyahu government’s understanding of the strategic realities on the ground. And as a result, a wider operation is unlikely.”
What can we expect from the IDF’s current operation in Jenin?
According to the IDF, the goal of the operation is to disable the massive terror infrastructure that Palestinian groups have built in the Jenin refugee camp.
Over the past year and a half, due to the policies of the previous government and to IDF support for those policies, the area has become a mini-Gaza. In September 2021, in conjunction with then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Central Command head Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs ordered a five-month moratorium on IDF operations in Jenin, in the interest of “strengthening the Palestinian Authority.”
The current operation then is geared towards repairing the damage caused by the policies of the previous government and Central Command. As IDF Spokesman R. ADM. Daniel Hagari explained Monday morning in a spate of television and radio interviews, the purpose of the operation is not to seize control over Jenin or parts of the city. It is not directed against the P.A. It is meant simply to regain the tactical advantage and degrade the capabilities of the terror groups operating in the refugee camp.
As a limited, tactical engagement, the operation has limited, but important, potential. Over the past several weeks, the Palestinian Arabs have shot four rudimentary rockets at Israeli communities from Jenin.
Although military experts insist these were mere pop guns, the missile industry in Gaza began the same way in 2000. Today, missiles from Gaza have ranges that cover most of the country. The operation in Jenin can destroy all the rocket workshops and kill or arrest all of the terrorist operatives engaged in the development of the rocket program.
The operation in Jenin can also disrupt and degrade the Palestinian Arab terror capacity by killing and capturing the terror commanders and foot soldiers who together have been carrying out shooting, stoning, roadside bomb and pipe bomb attacks against Israelis throughout the region. These attacks have made life a crap shoot for tens of thousands of Israeli citizens who live and work in the communities in northern Samaria and the Binyamin region.
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