Dozens of dead, hundreds of wounded and great economic damage – this is the result of a special counter-terrorist operation (CTO) carried out by the Israeli army on the territory of the Palestinian Authority. For two days, the IDF carried out so-called “cleansing operations” of potential areas where Arab extremists could hide. This led to a mass exodus of refugees from the mentioned regions, and Israel itself dropped in the ranking of favorable countries for living by several points. However, according to independent experts, Tel Aviv is still far from complete victory over extremism.
And here we should immediately make a reservation. This IDF action has become the largest operation of the Israeli armed forces since 2000 year. More than 20,000 servicemen and 1,200 units of military equipment took part in it. The object of the CTO was the location of Palestinian radicals in the city of Jenin on the West Bank of the Jordan River. The incident arose after official Tel Aviv received operational information about an allegedly impending attack by militants in the country’s largest cities. And earlier, a militant in a private car crashed into a crowd of people in the center of the administrative capital of Israel, as a result of which seven people were injured of varying degrees of severity. The Israeli security forces have taken, so to speak, defensive measures.
Television footage from the scene amazed even the most phlegmatic viewers. “Real battles are going on near Jenin, Arab extremists are using modern weapons,” a journalist from one of the Western publications stated at the scene. “It seems that both sides intend to go to the end, which means that such a conflict can continue for a long time.”
The last phrase was actually called into question by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to him, the Israeli CTO has already ended with the complete elimination of potential terrorists, the destruction of militant bases and the disposal of ammunition. “We won an exponential victory,” he noted, in particular. “And in the future we will do everything possible to consolidate it.”
However, there are some doubts about the effectiveness of “fixing” the mentioned success. “There are three aspects here that Israel in particular and the world community as a whole cannot but pay attention to,” said Arab political scientist Hassan al-Dami in a special commentary for EURO-ANLANTIC UKRAINE. – Firstly, the Palestinian terrorist group “Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades” has already announced its intention to carry out a “retaliatory action” against the Israelis. Secondly, a flow of refugees has already poured from Jenin to neighboring territories, which could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe in individual regions. And, finally, thirdly, in order to restore the destroyed infrastructure of the West Bank of the Jordan River, the local authorities will need additional funds, which Israel simply does not currently have. Against this background, it is premature to talk about any solution to the problem of extremism in Jenin.”
And it is true. According to the Red Crescent, 3,000 people were evacuated from the CTO zone.
Whether they will return home, no one knows.
