By Ali Karbalaei
TEHRAN- Palestinians bravely defend the occupied Jenin refugee camp after an Israeli military invasion ended with 5 martyrs and injury of 8 Israeli troops.
The occupied West Bank towns, cities and villages have become used to pre-dawn Israeli raids.
But the latest invasion of Jenin and its adjoining refugee camp may prove to be a game changer.
Since the rise of newly formed Palestinian armed factions over the past two years, Israel must now carefully study its military operations before raiding West Bank regions, in particular the flashpoint cities of Jenin and Nablus.
In a statement on Monday, the Israeli military said that the operation started before dawn with the hope of arresting two Palestinians from the Jenin refugee camp.
What happened next was not expected.
The Israeli military brigade was met with resistance. A "massive exchange of fire" (as the Israeli military described it) ensued.
The regime's forces have been accused of using an indiscriminate level of force.
Israeli forces killed five Palestinians, including one child, and injured more than 90 others throughout the duration of its presence inside Jenin.
Not even journalists were spared, with a group being shot at by Israeli snipers despite hiding in areas where there were no resistance fighters at the scene. At least one journalist, Hazem Nasser, was wounded with a direct hit.
Another Palestinian Journalist, Mohammed Ateeq, who was reporting live while trapped under fire said "there is heavy gunfire, the ambulance was targeted and fled, a targeted car also fled, there was shooting at it, everybody here is on the ground, all the journalists are on the ground here."
Medics were prevented from attending to the injured. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says Israeli forces directly shot at and damaged four ambulances. “Our teams could only deal with 43 injuries, including 27 gunshot wounds and eight shrapnel wounds," a spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
An official with the Fatah Party has been cited by Reuters as saying resistance fighters from the nearby cities of Nablus and Tulkarem had arrived in Jenin to support the local forces defending the camp.
After the hours-long battle that led to injuries among the regime’s troops, Israel called the operation off and began to withdraw.
As it was fleeing the Jenin refugee camp, the military convoy was caught in a trap. An explosive device, planted by the resistance, caused heavy damage to at least five Israeli armored vehicles, injuring more Israeli troops.
Palestinian gunmen ambushed the Israeli military convoy, which was struggling to leave the camp, and opened heavy fire at it.
A number of Israeli vehicles were prevented from leaving the city.
An Israeli military statement said “as they were retreating, an explosive device detonated in an armored vehicle. The injuries range from mild to medium.”
“The Israeli vehicles were subjected to gun shots and five vehicles were stuck. The operation to retract those vehicles could take hours,” the statement added. The damaged Israeli vehicles were later seen on Palestinian media.
At this point, the regime’s forces called for air assistance to help its troops evacuate.
Apache helicopters arrived at the scene and started firing in an attempt to target the gunmen and allow the convoy to depart.
"So that's why you also saw our forces in a very problematic area and we had to bring in a helicopter," an army spokesman told reporters.
Video clips circulating online show one military helicopter launching a missile and releasing flares.
The last time the regime had resorted to helicopter gunships in the occupied West Bank was more than 20 years ago. That is since the second Intifada more than two decades ago.
Unconfirmed reports have said the occupation army requested the intervention of F16 warplanes in the Jenin camp as a result of the shock from the method and confrontation of the resistance.
It all highlights the intensity of the gun battle and the amount of explosive devices with which the resistance targeted the Israeli military throughout the day. The Jenin battalion of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigades says it used high-grade explosives for the first time on Monday.
The use of more sophisticated explosive devices for the first time shows that Palestinians have the knowledge to make them and the means to use them against the Israeli military professionally. This indicates a new reality for the West Bank.
At least eight Israeli troops were left injured during the entire brutal yet botched operation. The Israeli army said on its radio channel that the condition of one of injured troops had deteriorated "to serious".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later visited the injured troops in hospital.
Military analysts on Israeli media have said the injuries of the regime’s troops in the Jenin operation reminds the occupation regime a lot about Hezbollah's pattern of resistance in Lebanon before the Israeli occupation fully withdrew from the country in 2000.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has identified four of the Palestinian victims as Ahmed Saqr aged 15, Khaled Darwish 21, Qassam Sariya 19, and Qassam Faisal 29.
Following the deadly raid on Jenin, Palestinians took to the streets and clashed with Israeli soldiers in different parts of the West Bank, with more casualties reported on both sides.
In a separate incident, a car was used in a retaliatory operation against Israeli troops at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank. The regime’s forces shot two people in the car, while two Israeli troops also sustained injuries in the operation.
The Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Hazem Qassem, strongly condemned the Jenin raid and praised the resistance.
“The resistance fighters from all factions were united on the battlefield, it shows that the resistance still exists in the West Bank cities. The threats by the occupation of the military operation will not stop the resistance in the West Bank,” he told different news outlets.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad published a statement that condemned the Israeli military operation.
“We affirm that this heinous crime, during which the martyrs died and dozens of our people were wounded, will not stop our resistance in the West Bank. We salute our freedom fighters in the Jenin Battalion, and we confirm our determination to continue the fight. The enemy’s threats will not frighten us and will not discourage the al-Quds Brigades from carrying out their duty,” the statement read.
As Palestinians mourn their dead, there is a sense that the equation is changing in the occupied West Bank. Israel has much to think about following its latest operation.
The use of Apache helicopters for the first time in more than 20 years indicates how powerful the Palestinian resistance has become in tackling the Israeli regime’s military raids in the West Bank.
It also suggests how desperate the regime’s cabinet (which analysts say is the most fascist in Israel’s short history) has become in dealing with the armed resistance.
The tactics deployed by the resistance in Jenin have been compared to those of Hezbollah more than 23 years ago. History has shown what Hezbollah inflicted on Israel in the 23 years that followed.
The facts on the ground over the past two years prove the ignorance of Israeli rulers.
The more force they use against the West Bank, the stronger the Palestinian resistance grows. Experts believe that resorting to more force will spell more misery and spring more surprises for Israel in the future.
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The last time the regime had resorted to helicopter gunships in the occupied West Bank was more than 20 years ago. That is since the second Intifada more than two decades ago.
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