All IDF troops withdraw from Jenin as operation finishes

The streets were deserted. 

To the extent that there were streets.

Multiple streets that the Jerusalem Post and a small group of military reporters viewed as part of an embed with IDF troops going deep into the heart of Jenin on Tuesday afternoon had been blown up or carved up, depending on whether they had been bulldozed or set off by the IDF's bomb squads.

Then again, only a few meters away, there were streets which appeared mostly untouched.

 The IDF's Maglan special forces unit uncovered a hidden explosives workshop with hundreds of functional explosive devices in the Jenin refugee camp, the Israeli military, Shin Bet and the Border Police said in a joint statement.

Residents of Jenin received messages reportedly from the IDF at the outset of the operation, which read: "Security forces are operating in the area against the militants. Stay at home and protect your family."

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, called on Palestinians throughout the West Bank "to stand by Jenin and defend its people in order to thwart the enemy's plan."

"The bloodshed on the land of Jenin will determine the nature of the next stage in all directions and paths, and our people and their resistance in all their places know how to respond to this barbaric aggression," said Haniyeh.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement expressed outrage at the strikes in Jenin, stating "The aggression against Jenin will not achieve its goals, and we will keep Jenin as a symbol of steadfastness."

"Jenin will not surrender, and our fighters are determined to confront and fight no matter the sacrifices," added the Islamic Jihad. "The Zionist enemy bears full responsibility for all the consequences of this aggression. The resistance will confront the enemy and will defend the Palestinian people, and all options are open to strike the enemy in response to its aggression in Jenin."

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem warned that the Israeli government "bears all responsibility for the aggression against Jenin."

A Palestinian was shot and killed during clashes near a checkpoint near Beit El early Monday morning, according to Palestinian reports, with initial reports indicating that he was a resident of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip.

In parallel to the Jenin operation, the IDF on Monday announced that it arrested five terror suspects across the West Bank and confiscated weapons, fireworks and ammunition. During the arrests, clashes with Palestinians broke out, during which stones and burning tires were thrown at the IDF soldiers. No casualties were reported.

The strikes come less than two weeks after the IDF killed a terrorist cell near Jenin with a drone strike. The cell was conducting a shooting attack near the Jalameh crossing in the area, according to a joint statement by the IDF and Shin Bet at the time.

That drone strike came only days after the IDF used a helicopter strike to help rescue ambushed soldiers in Jenin.

This is a developing story. Eliav Breuer contributed to this story.

Egypt condemned the IDF actions in Jenin "in the strongest terms," characterizing it as "random use of force and a flagrant violation of the provisions of international law and international legitimacy, especially international humanitarian law."

The Israeli government informed the US of its plan to enter Jenin, a senior diplomatic source said on Monday.

Jerusalem told Washington about 10 days ago that it plans to try to root out terrorism from the West Bank city, without saying when it would do so or providing further specific details, the Israeli source said.

“We said that security officials think that we cannot avoid entering Jenin, though we had not yet made an exact decision of how and when we would do it,” the source stated. “We said we would enter for a focused action when we have enough intelligence.”

American interlocutors understood the necessity of the actions, according to the source, who compared it to the US Army fighting ISIS in Iraq or Syria: “Sometimes, you know you can’t wait.”

The Palestinian Authority on Monday urged the US and the international community to intervene immediately to halt the Israeli security operation in Jenin.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), meanwhile, said the large-scale operation won’t achieve its goals. 

Israel launched its largest military action in Jenin in two decades overnight Sunday, but in contrast with its efforts to root out terrorism in Gaza, the current action is not being called an “operation,” nor has the IDF or Foreign Ministry called it by a specific name.

While the IDF used the term “Home and Garden” internally – Jenin means garden in Arabic - the lack of a name for external use is meant to signal that this raid is narrow, focused, and intended to be short.

“This is not an operation. It’s not semantics; I’m not saying that for no reason,” a senior Israeli diplomatic source said, calling it a “brigade-level raid.”

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen characterized the IDF’s actions as a “large-scale effort to thwart terrorist activity in Jenin,” in remarks at an event to launch his ministry’s participation in the next UN climate change conference.

The IDF on Sunday night launched its largest operation in Jenin since the Second Intifada with a series of more than ten airstrikes and moving brigade-level forces into the northern West Bank Palestinian city.

IDF Chief Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said early Monday that as of now the operation is focused on Jenin, but that it could expand to other parts of the northern West Bank, also known as Samaria.

There were no indications that the IDF would expand the operation to the central and southern portions of the West Bank.

Around 1:15 p.m., the IDF and a large group of armed Palestinians engaged in a wider gunbattle near a mosque. IDF aircraft also engaged the Palestinians to "remove them as a threat." Israeli media reported that some of the armed Palestinians were firing from inside the mosque itself and therefore the IDF did not respond with any sort of airstrike in order to avoid damaging the mosque. 

As of Monday afternoon, at least 10 suspected Palestinian terrorists are dead and dozens wounded, according to IDF sources. The real number is expected to be much higher and to expand in the coming days. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported eight dead and at least 50 wounded, 10 of them in serious condition.