AT least nine Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
The Israeli army said earlier on Tuesday that soldiers, police and intelligence services launched a “counterterrorism action”, but gave no further details.
The identity of those killed was not immediately clear. The Health Ministry said that more than 35 people have been wounded.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security forces said in a statement that Israeli forces “opened fire on civilians and security forces, resulting in injuries to several civilians and a number of security personnel, one of whom is in critical condition”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation aimed to “eradicate terrorism”. An Israeli military spokesperson said the ongoing operation was dubbed the “Iron Wall”.
Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub called the action “an invasion”, according to the AFP news agency.
“It came quickly,” he said. “Apache planes in the sky and Israeli military vehicles everywhere.”
The attack in Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions in recent years, comes days after a ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip, and underscores the threat of more violence in the West Bank.
Before the Israeli action, the PA’s security forces had been conducting a weeks-long operation to reassert control of the city of Jenin, as well as its refugee camp.
Last week, an Israeli air raid on the refugee camp killed at least three Palestinians and wounded many more.
