The Expansion of 'Gaza-ification' to the West Bank
As a cease-fire remains intact in Gaza, Israel directs its military efforts towards the West Bank.
TroibNews 
JENIN, West Bank — The day after Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president and just two days following a tense cease-fire in Gaza, Israeli forces initiated a new military campaign against Palestinians, focusing on the West Bank.
Residents of the Jenin refugee camp—men, women, children, and the elderly, some with disabilities—were compelled to evacuate on foot. Israeli troops had encircled the camp to eliminate militants and established only one evacuation route, which had previously been destroyed by military bulldozers.
The Israeli government claims that the ongoing operation in Jenin city and the adjacent refugee camp, named “Operation Iron Wall,” aims to "defeat terrorism in the area." This military action signifies a significant escalation in both scale and intensity compared to earlier assaults. Israeli fighter jets have conducted airstrikes, resulting in at least 25 fatalities, while soldiers have demolished entire blocks. Critical infrastructure has been damaged, including roads leading to Jenin Government Hospital—the region's sole public health facility—along with water, sewage, and telecommunication networks.
Hassan Abu Sariyeh, a 33-year-old who requires crutches due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, initially resolved to stay behind in his home shared with seven family members, having done so during previous military operations. “But then the drones came,” he recounted as he exited the camp. “One of them hovered by the window and a voice emanated from it, saying, ‘Leave the camp. We’re about to blow it up.’ As soon as the message ended, we heard a loud boom on the roof. Another drone had thrown a sound bomb. That’s when we decided to leave.” Within a mere four days, the camp, which housed 20,000 residents, had been largely abandoned.
Since January, Israeli forces have killed 70 Palestinians, including eight children, in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, with 38 fatalities occurring in the Jenin area alone. Tactics resemble those previously seen in Gaza. “It felt like the same scenes from Gaza were playing out in the West Bank, especially the closure of and siege imposed on hospitals, the prevention of movement to and from the facility, and the attacks on medical staff,” said Dr. Wissam Baker, head of Jenin Government Hospital.
Baker noted that the hospital, serving 370,000 people, was effectively besieged at the onset of the Israeli operation, with all access roads blocked. “Five medics were injured, and staff, patients and visitors were prevented from leaving the hospital. Only after intensive talks with the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations were they allowed to leave,” he explained.
The term “Gaza-ification of the West Bank” has been used by some observers, including Baker, to describe the destruction of vital infrastructure, essential services such as water and electricity, home raids, the obstruction of medical aid to injured Palestinians, and assaults on large crowds in refugee camps.
The devastation in Gaza raises difficult questions about potential reconstruction and its feasibility. Recently, Trump suggested the need to completely depopulate Gaza and raze it, hinting that the U.S. would “take over” the territory for development. Such remarks do little to reassure West Bank residents.
“In Gaza, the Israelis have normalized attacking hospitals, razing refugee camps, killing civilians. This is why we see what we are seeing now in the West Bank. It has become commonplace,” stated Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former negotiator with the Palestinian delegation in peace talks with Israel.
In the West Bank, many view the ongoing operation as a form of retribution by Israel, still seething from the October 7 Hamas attacks, aiming to maintain pressure on the Palestinian population despite the cease-fire in Gaza. With movement restricted by approximately 900 military checkpoints, residents feel a strong message is being sent: they remain under control. Some argue this constitutes collective punishment targeting refugees and their homes, trying to resolve the Palestinian “issue” that has been a contentious topic in previous peace negotiations.
“Part of this is payback for the cease-fire in Gaza. Inside Israel, there is a sense of defeat—many are questioning why so many Israeli soldiers were killed only for things to go back to the pre-Oct. 7, 2023 status quo,” said Buttu. “They are attacking the West Bank in a show [of] military prowess and for them, Jenin and Gaza are interchangeable—both are known for fighting back.”
The operation marks the second large-scale military action against Jenin in just two months. The prior operation was carried out by the Palestinian Authority (PA) itself, which administers parts of the West Bank.
The PA has been attempting to regain influence in Gaza since its Fatah party was ousted by Hamas in the 2006 elections and subsequently expelled from the territory in a civil conflict in 2007. The attack on Jenin, initiated on December 5, was seen as an effort to prove the PA’s ability to maintain order within the Palestinian populace, as well as its commitment to the security agreement with Israel, which PA President Mahmoud Abbas has characterized as “sacred.”
The PA's crackdown targeted the Jenin Brigade—a coalition of armed groups associated with factions like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as well as Fatah itself. This represented the PA's largest security operation against its constituents since its formation in 1994, involving a siege that cut off water and electricity for a significant portion of the camp. The operation left at least 11 Palestinians dead, six of whom were civilians, including a child.
Combined actions by the PA and Israeli forces have resulted in the destruction of between 150 and 180 houses in Jenin, primarily during the current Israeli operation. Access restrictions have led to the suspension of schools, health services, and solid waste collection by UNRWA, greatly exacerbating a pre-existing sewage crisis.
UN experts have expressed concern that military actions in the West Bank are occurring alongside expanding Israeli settlements and rising violence from armed settlers. These developments come amidst a backdrop where Israeli authorities have sought to undermine UNRWA, claiming it perpetuates the refugee problem by recognizing the descendants of Palestinian refugees as refugees themselves.
Recently, Israeli military operations have extended beyond Jenin. On January 29, an airstrike hit a crowded neighborhood in Tamoun, killing at least 10 individuals in one of the area’s deadliest incidents in months. Shortly after, Israeli forces raided Qalqilya and its outskirts, escalating their military campaign across various cities, including Tubas, Qalqilya, Nablus, and Jericho.
In Tulkarem, southwest of Jenin, Israeli operations have disrupted water and electricity, displacing nearly 1,000 residents. In Tulkarem’s refugee camp, over 12,000 have been displaced from a population of nearly 16,000.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, “several Palestinian families were already forced to leave their homes by the Israeli military for the duration of the operation, despite the fact they have nowhere to go in the middle of the winter.”
For Palestinians in the West Bank, the temporary halt in fighting in Gaza carries a heavy toll.
Jenin’s refugee camp, one of 19 across the West Bank, has long been a focal point of Palestinian resistance. In 2002, Israeli forces conducted a large-scale military invasion of the camp, resulting in the deaths of at least 54 individuals, displacing over 4,000, and damaging more than a third of its infrastructure.
Khaled Mansour, 41, recalled his experiences from that invasion as he left the camp. “In 2002, I went through a similar kind of suffering. The Israeli soldiers made my family leave our home, and they detained me. But even with everything that happened back then, it still feels that this time is worse and more difficult.”
He fears losing the home he built with his brothers over the years. “We don’t know if the Israelis will allow us back. We left behind the house my three brothers and I built brick by brick. We left behind the neighborhood we grew up in. We left behind all our memories,” Mansour lamented.
His worries are valid, as Israeli officials have stated that troops will remain in the camp permanently following the operation. “We have declared war on Palestinian terror in the West Bank,” Defense Minister Israel Katz affirmed during a visit to Jenin camp. “After the operation is completed, IDF [Israeli army] forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terror does not return.”
A significant aspect of this military operation is that residents were not just displaced; they were ordered to assemble in an area of profound historical and symbolic significance—where Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper over two years ago.
Forcing residents to gather at this site serves as a stark reminder of the camp’s ongoing struggle against military incursions and displacement. It is marked by makeshift memorials that have been repeatedly destroyed by Israeli forces. The act of evacuating families to this location highlights the violence faced by the camp's refugees since their original displacement in 1948 and intensifies the sentiment of insecurity for everyone, including journalists.
Abu Sariyeh recounted how he received instructions from a quadcopter that hovered outside his home. “When we finally got there, the soldiers separated the women from the men, who, in turn, were photographed. My brother was detained with some other men while others were allowed to leave,” he said. “We are now headed to my aunt’s house in Wadi Burqin with only the clothes on our backs and our identity cards.”
His sense of loss was palpable. “We should have taken pictures of our house. We should have said goodbye to it. Or better still, we should have just stayed.”
Ian Smith for TROIB News
Residents of the Jenin refugee camp—men, women, children, and the elderly, some with disabilities—were compelled to evacuate on foot. Israeli troops had encircled the camp to eliminate militants and established only one evacuation route, which had previously been destroyed by military bulldozers.
The Israeli government claims that the ongoing operation in Jenin city and the adjacent refugee camp, named “Operation Iron Wall,” aims to "defeat terrorism in the area." This military action signifies a significant escalation in both scale and intensity compared to earlier assaults. Israeli fighter jets have conducted airstrikes, resulting in at least 25 fatalities, while soldiers have demolished entire blocks. Critical infrastructure has been damaged, including roads leading to Jenin Government Hospital—the region's sole public health facility—along with water, sewage, and telecommunication networks.
Hassan Abu Sariyeh, a 33-year-old who requires crutches due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, initially resolved to stay behind in his home shared with seven family members, having done so during previous military operations. “But then the drones came,” he recounted as he exited the camp. “One of them hovered by the window and a voice emanated from it, saying, ‘Leave the camp. We’re about to blow it up.’ As soon as the message ended, we heard a loud boom on the roof. Another drone had thrown a sound bomb. That’s when we decided to leave.” Within a mere four days, the camp, which housed 20,000 residents, had been largely abandoned.
Since January, Israeli forces have killed 70 Palestinians, including eight children, in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, with 38 fatalities occurring in the Jenin area alone. Tactics resemble those previously seen in Gaza. “It felt like the same scenes from Gaza were playing out in the West Bank, especially the closure of and siege imposed on hospitals, the prevention of movement to and from the facility, and the attacks on medical staff,” said Dr. Wissam Baker, head of Jenin Government Hospital.
Baker noted that the hospital, serving 370,000 people, was effectively besieged at the onset of the Israeli operation, with all access roads blocked. “Five medics were injured, and staff, patients and visitors were prevented from leaving the hospital. Only after intensive talks with the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations were they allowed to leave,” he explained.
The term “Gaza-ification of the West Bank” has been used by some observers, including Baker, to describe the destruction of vital infrastructure, essential services such as water and electricity, home raids, the obstruction of medical aid to injured Palestinians, and assaults on large crowds in refugee camps.
The devastation in Gaza raises difficult questions about potential reconstruction and its feasibility. Recently, Trump suggested the need to completely depopulate Gaza and raze it, hinting that the U.S. would “take over” the territory for development. Such remarks do little to reassure West Bank residents.
“In Gaza, the Israelis have normalized attacking hospitals, razing refugee camps, killing civilians. This is why we see what we are seeing now in the West Bank. It has become commonplace,” stated Diana Buttu, a lawyer and former negotiator with the Palestinian delegation in peace talks with Israel.
In the West Bank, many view the ongoing operation as a form of retribution by Israel, still seething from the October 7 Hamas attacks, aiming to maintain pressure on the Palestinian population despite the cease-fire in Gaza. With movement restricted by approximately 900 military checkpoints, residents feel a strong message is being sent: they remain under control. Some argue this constitutes collective punishment targeting refugees and their homes, trying to resolve the Palestinian “issue” that has been a contentious topic in previous peace negotiations.
“Part of this is payback for the cease-fire in Gaza. Inside Israel, there is a sense of defeat—many are questioning why so many Israeli soldiers were killed only for things to go back to the pre-Oct. 7, 2023 status quo,” said Buttu. “They are attacking the West Bank in a show [of] military prowess and for them, Jenin and Gaza are interchangeable—both are known for fighting back.”
The operation marks the second large-scale military action against Jenin in just two months. The prior operation was carried out by the Palestinian Authority (PA) itself, which administers parts of the West Bank.
The PA has been attempting to regain influence in Gaza since its Fatah party was ousted by Hamas in the 2006 elections and subsequently expelled from the territory in a civil conflict in 2007. The attack on Jenin, initiated on December 5, was seen as an effort to prove the PA’s ability to maintain order within the Palestinian populace, as well as its commitment to the security agreement with Israel, which PA President Mahmoud Abbas has characterized as “sacred.”
The PA's crackdown targeted the Jenin Brigade—a coalition of armed groups associated with factions like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as well as Fatah itself. This represented the PA's largest security operation against its constituents since its formation in 1994, involving a siege that cut off water and electricity for a significant portion of the camp. The operation left at least 11 Palestinians dead, six of whom were civilians, including a child.
Combined actions by the PA and Israeli forces have resulted in the destruction of between 150 and 180 houses in Jenin, primarily during the current Israeli operation. Access restrictions have led to the suspension of schools, health services, and solid waste collection by UNRWA, greatly exacerbating a pre-existing sewage crisis.
UN experts have expressed concern that military actions in the West Bank are occurring alongside expanding Israeli settlements and rising violence from armed settlers. These developments come amidst a backdrop where Israeli authorities have sought to undermine UNRWA, claiming it perpetuates the refugee problem by recognizing the descendants of Palestinian refugees as refugees themselves.
Recently, Israeli military operations have extended beyond Jenin. On January 29, an airstrike hit a crowded neighborhood in Tamoun, killing at least 10 individuals in one of the area’s deadliest incidents in months. Shortly after, Israeli forces raided Qalqilya and its outskirts, escalating their military campaign across various cities, including Tubas, Qalqilya, Nablus, and Jericho.
In Tulkarem, southwest of Jenin, Israeli operations have disrupted water and electricity, displacing nearly 1,000 residents. In Tulkarem’s refugee camp, over 12,000 have been displaced from a population of nearly 16,000.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, “several Palestinian families were already forced to leave their homes by the Israeli military for the duration of the operation, despite the fact they have nowhere to go in the middle of the winter.”
For Palestinians in the West Bank, the temporary halt in fighting in Gaza carries a heavy toll.
Jenin’s refugee camp, one of 19 across the West Bank, has long been a focal point of Palestinian resistance. In 2002, Israeli forces conducted a large-scale military invasion of the camp, resulting in the deaths of at least 54 individuals, displacing over 4,000, and damaging more than a third of its infrastructure.
Khaled Mansour, 41, recalled his experiences from that invasion as he left the camp. “In 2002, I went through a similar kind of suffering. The Israeli soldiers made my family leave our home, and they detained me. But even with everything that happened back then, it still feels that this time is worse and more difficult.”
He fears losing the home he built with his brothers over the years. “We don’t know if the Israelis will allow us back. We left behind the house my three brothers and I built brick by brick. We left behind the neighborhood we grew up in. We left behind all our memories,” Mansour lamented.
His worries are valid, as Israeli officials have stated that troops will remain in the camp permanently following the operation. “We have declared war on Palestinian terror in the West Bank,” Defense Minister Israel Katz affirmed during a visit to Jenin camp. “After the operation is completed, IDF [Israeli army] forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terror does not return.”
A significant aspect of this military operation is that residents were not just displaced; they were ordered to assemble in an area of profound historical and symbolic significance—where Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper over two years ago.
Forcing residents to gather at this site serves as a stark reminder of the camp’s ongoing struggle against military incursions and displacement. It is marked by makeshift memorials that have been repeatedly destroyed by Israeli forces. The act of evacuating families to this location highlights the violence faced by the camp's refugees since their original displacement in 1948 and intensifies the sentiment of insecurity for everyone, including journalists.
Abu Sariyeh recounted how he received instructions from a quadcopter that hovered outside his home. “When we finally got there, the soldiers separated the women from the men, who, in turn, were photographed. My brother was detained with some other men while others were allowed to leave,” he said. “We are now headed to my aunt’s house in Wadi Burqin with only the clothes on our backs and our identity cards.”
His sense of loss was palpable. “We should have taken pictures of our house. We should have said goodbye to it. Or better still, we should have just stayed.”
Ian Smith for TROIB News
