Middle East Monitor / June 3, 2023
Israeli military institutions are preparing for a potential wide-scale military offensive to “purge” the occupied West Bank of armed Palestinian resistance, Hebrew newspaper Maariv revealed on Friday.
Maariv’s military reporter Tal Lev-Ram said that last week’s attack by the Palestinian resistance that killed Jewish settler Meir Tamari near the settlement of Hermesh, along with other shooting attacks, make it clear that the security situation is dangerous.
The intensity of the Palestinian shooting attacks, Lev-Ram said, proves that there is a chronic danger, noting that 20 Israelis were killed in 2022: “To deal with this situation, the military institutions are preparing for a potential big measure that the casualties among the Israelis will be the trigger for it.”
Maariv’s reporter predicted that the Israeli army might carry out a massive offensive in Nablus and Jenin Refugee Camp because these: “Are the incentive for attacks in other areas.”
Lev-Ram stated that if such an operation were approved, it would last several days, including collecting weapons, detentions and discovering explosive workshops.
But, according to Lev-Ram, the Israeli army fears that such offensives might lead to escalation with Gaza, noting that this is still not a preferable choice for the Israeli army as such offensives ignite international criticism.
