Violence in West Bank may lead to new confrontation with Gaza
Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad have claimed responsibility for two shooting attacks in less than a month in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Israeli army announced Dec. 19 the arrest of four Palestinians from Silat al-Harithiya in the Jenin governorate after they carried out a shooting attack near the city of Nablus on Dec. 16, killing a settler and wounding others.
The Nablus operation is a pivotal point that may mark a return to organized operations. While the factions had over the past years failed to claim responsibility for any operations, Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), claimed responsibility for the operation amid the emergence of individual operations.
The Jenin Brigade of Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement via Telegram, “We claim full responsibility for the Homesh operation, which was carried out by the Al-Quds Brigades in response to the occupation’s causing of trouble in Nablus and in revenge for the blood of the martyr Jamil al-Kayyal” who was killed by Israel on Dec. 12.
For Israel, the Homesh operation portends that similar serious operations could unfold in the West Bank.
