The Israeli army announced on November 26 a new “counter-terrorism” operation in the northern occupied West Bank.
The army and internal security service said in a joint statement that they “began operating as part of a broad counter-terrorism operation in the area of Northern Samaria” – using the biblical Israeli term for part of the West Bank.
Meanwhile, in a response to AFP, the Israeli military said the operation is new and is not part of its counter-terrorism operation that began in January of this year, which mainly targets Palestinian refugee camps.
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has increased since Hamas – the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union – attacked Israel in October 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.
The violence has not stopped despite the fragile ceasefire that has been in place in Gaza since October 10.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1.000 Palestinians – most of them militants, but also dozens of civilians – in the West Bank since the start of the war, according to Palestinian Health Ministry data.
At least 44 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed during Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
