You would think it’s a basic right of any country to defend its population against terrorism. However, as is seemingly the case with everything Israel does, its recent two-day military operation against terrorists and their infrastructure in the West Bank city of Jenin aroused much comment and controversy. It is therefore important to understand the context of the campaign, what the Israeli forces actually did in Jenin and why.
The past eight months have seen an upsurge in terrorism emanating from the West Bank. In hundreds of attacks, at least 28 Israeli civilians have been killed. Some were gunned down at restaurants, while leaving a synagogue service or driving in their cars. Others were killed by a bomb while waiting at a bus stop, or deliberately run over by terrorists driving cars. All were innocently going about their lives, and all of these deadly attacks were linked to Jenin.
Perhaps even more sinisterly, a rocket was fired from Jenin towards Israel. This was the first rocket fired at Israel from the West Bank, and while it fell within the West Bank, the potential implications are enormous. The many thousands of rockets that have been fired at Israel from Gaza since Israel withdrew from the Strip are bad enough, but sustained rocket fire from the West Bank would all but paralyse Israel. Tel Aviv is only 18 km from the West Bank, Israel’s only international airport is about half that distance away, and Israel’s industrial heartland and most of its population centres are also within 18 km, or seconds as the rocket flies.
Read the article by Jamie Hyams in The Australian.