Israeli forces withdraw from Jenin, step up raids in other West Bank areas

Palestinians commencement clearing wreckage successful Jenin aft the Israeli military’s 10-day battle leaves way of destruction.

The Israeli subject has withdrawn from the occupied West Bank metropolis of Jenin and its exile campy aft a military offensive that killed galore and destroyed captious infrastructure.

The Palestinian quality bureau Wafa confirmed connected Friday that Israeli forces had pulled retired of the metropolis pursuing a 10-day siege, but residents feared soldiers would instrumentality aft temporarily moving to surrounding subject checkpoints.

At slightest 21 Palestinians, including children and the elderly, person been killed successful Jenin implicit the past fewer days, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said successful a connection connected Friday, and astatine slightest 130 much were injured.

The Israeli subject said connected Friday that its forces had been “conducting counterterrorism enactment successful the country of Jenin”, without confirming the withdrawal.

It said successful a connection that it killed 14 “terrorists” and arrested much than 30 “suspects” successful Jenin during the siege, and claimed to person destroyed astir 30 explosives, arsenic good arsenic an underground weapons stockpile located nether a mosque and a laboratory for the accumulation of explosives.

The Israeli subject launched the violative successful the northbound of the West Bank connected August 28 targeting Jenin and Tulkarem among different areas successful its largest battle connected the occupied territory since the 2nd Intifada successful the aboriginal 2000s.

“Palestinians successful Jenin are yet capable to travel retired of their homes and spot and measure the level of damage, portion those who had to permission [the city] are yet coming back,” said writer Leila Warah, reporting from Ramallah.

She noted that the Israeli subject was inactive contiguous successful different areas of the West Bank, with attacks successful the Nablus and Balata exile camps and raids successful areas of Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah.

Jenin residents utilized the lull successful unit to rummage done the rubble of destroyed buildings and instrumentality banal of the damage.

Wafa reported that subject checkpoints surrounding Jenin remained active, heightening fears of aboriginal incursions.

In beforehand of the reported withdrawal, 5 Palestinians were “severely beaten” connected Thursday nighttime by Israeli forces astatine the al-Jalama subject checkpoint northbound of Jenin, according to Wafa.

Aziz Taleb, a 48-year-old begetter of seven, recovered retired his household location of 20 years successful Jenin had been raided. “Thank God [the children] near the time before. They went to enactment with our neighbours,” Taleb told the AFP quality bureau arsenic helium surveyed the damage.

Imra Itisadeh, a 60-year-old Jenin resident, said: “At first, we didn’t privation to leave. Later, [the Israeli army] pressured us, and we had to permission our homes. I near with my hubby [on foot].”

‘Brutal destruction’

In a connection connected Facebook, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Israel of transferring to the West Bank its brutal demolition and devastation the Gaza Strip has been witnessing for 11 months.

It said the raids conducted successful Jenin arsenic good arsenic Tulkarem were “a wide targeting of Palestinian civilians and the foundations of their nationalist and quality beingness connected their homeland”.

In their raid successful Nablus, Israeli forces arrested 2 assemblage students from their homes.

A 30-year-old Palestinian antheral was besides injured by shrapnel from bullets fired by Israeli forces pursuing a raid connected the Balata exile camp, located eastbound of Nablus.

Israeli soldiers besides stormed the municipality of Idhna, westbound of Hebron, wherever they raided a house.

The siege connected Hebron has been ongoing for the 5th consecutive day, with soldiers closing each entrances starring to the governorate aft carrying retired 3 operations successful little than 48 hours.

Source

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies