The Israeli army is setting up a base in the Jenin camp as it prepares for a long-term deployment in the occupied West Bank.
“Jenin is a repeat of what happened in Jabalia,” said Basheer Matahen, spokesperson for the Jenin municipality, referring to the refugee camp in northern Gaza that was leveled by the Israeli army. “The camp has become uninhabitable.”
He said at least 12 bulldozers were at work demolishing houses and infrastructure in the camp, once a crowded township that housed descendants of Palestinians who fled their homes or were driven out in the 1948 war in what Palestinians call the ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe at the start of the state of Israel.
Army engineering teams could be seen making preparations for a long-term stay, bringing water tanks and generators to a special area of almost one acre in size Matahen said.
Israeli forces raided the Palestinian village of Kafil Haris as troops pushed further south in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reported.
Israeli troops searched several homes but made no arrests during the latest incursion.
Kafil Haris is located 6km (3.2 miles) west of the town of Salfit and 18km (8.2 miles) south of Nablus city, in Salfit governorate.
The European Union on Monday pushed Israel over its operation in the West Bank and the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at a meeting with the country’s foreign minister in Brussels.
“We are closely watching developments, and cannot hide our concern when it comes to the West Bank,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
“The cease fire is a real chance to break the cycle of violence. It is imperative that we now move towards second phase,” Kallas said.
The first phase of the truce is due to expire in early March, and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed.
