{"id":239140,"date":"2023-07-17T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T11:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=239140"},"modified":"2023-07-12T04:55:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T03:55:48","slug":"the-jenin-operation-didnt-end-phase-two-has-already-begun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/07\/the-jenin-operation-didnt-end-phase-two-has-already-begun\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jenin Operation Didn\u2019t End–Phase Two Has Already Begun"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 Jul 2023 – The Israeli army’s bulldozers and airstrikes not only leveled Jenin refugee camp, but paved the way for the PA to return to the camp and reassert its influence. This is the unofficial second phase of the Jenin operation.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh chairs a meeting on the reconstruction of Jenin refugee camp, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on July 6, 2023. (Photo: Shadi Hatem\/APA Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

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As Israel\u2019s 48-hour onslaught on the Jenin refugee camp last week entered its denouement, former Israeli Brigadier General Tamir Hayman discussed the operation\u2019s objectives during an INSS podcast<\/a>. He came away with two primary aims: the restoration of the Israeli army\u2019s \u201coperational freedom\u201d \u2014 the ability of the army to enter any part of the West Bank unchallenged and unmolested by resistance \u2014 and, most notably, to facilitate the conditions for the return of the Palestinian Authority to the camp.<\/p>\n

Hayman couched his explanation in the language of desiring to ameliorate the \u201clack of efficiency\u201d of the PA in containing \u201cthe cycle of revenge\u201d perpetuated by the Palestinian resistance, meaning that the army would have to go in and undercut the influence of the resistance groups by taking out their so-called infrastructure (their ability to manufacture IEDs and other means of resistance). But he leaves much unsaid in this formulation \u2014 the Palestinian resistance remains alive and well in the camp precisely because the operation did not aim to eradicate<\/a> it but merely removed a few of its guns and eliminated a handful of labs. In other words, it\u2019s unclear how this narrow and much-touted \u201cachievement\u201d would facilitate the return of PA influence.<\/p>\n

The answer lies not in the tactical military objectives of the operation but in its broader political goals \u2014 to engage in a theatrical display of wreaking havoc and destruction in the camp, unrelated to operational necessity in the field. The army\u2019s D-9 bulldozers tore up streets and demolished homes not only to satisfy the calls of the bloodthirsty Israeli right for retribution, but to create the opportunity for the PA to roll in with reconstruction aid. Whether this was an intentional part of the army\u2019s operation is irrelevant \u2014 in reality, this is its Phase Two and the inauguration of Israel\u2019s soft counterinsurgency effort.<\/p>\n

This is also nothing new. After its destruction in 2002, Jenin refugee camp\u2019s \u201curban redesign<\/a>\u201d took place amidst a concerted colonial counterinsurgency campaign. It brought back the PA security forces into the camp to police the resistance, while foreign money streamed in as part of what Linda Tabar calls \u201cbureaucratic humanitarian aid,\u201d turning Jenin into Tony Blair\u2019s \u201cmodel economic and security zone.\u201d This is the same strategy that the INSS regards<\/a> as the exercise of \u201csoft power,\u201d which in conjunction with military power (alternating between \u201cthe carrot and the stick\u201d) is how the Israeli army\u2019s Central Command has strived to maintain the \u201cstatus quo\u201d since 1967 \u2014 creeping colonization coupled with colonial pacification. It sees the continued existence of the PA as crucial to maintaining that status quo.<\/p>\n

And the attempts at pacification are already starting. The UAE and Algeria have both pledged<\/a> $15 million and $30 million, respectively, for the reconstruction of Jenin. All of it will be funneled through the PA.<\/p>\n

After a PA delegation to the funeral of Jenin\u2019s 12 martyrs was kicked out of the camp<\/a> by mourners incensed at PA inaction, a ministerial committee<\/a> was formed by presidential order to lead the reconstruction effort. Another Fatah delegation composed of members of its central committee returned on Saturday, July 8, to meet with members of the Jenin Brigade, the umbrella resistance organization comprised of resistance fighters from many factional backgrounds, including the Islamic Jihad\u2019s Saraya al-Quds, Hamas\u2019s Qassam Brigades, and Fatah\u2019s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. One of the members was seen telling<\/a> the delegation that \u201cour rifles are not politicized in anyone\u2019s favor,\u201d and that they are \u201cpointed towards Jerusalem,\u201d which was met with applause from the Fatah delegation. The day after that, yet another delegation made up of PA ministers also arrived and made the rounds. The PA presence started to be normalized.<\/p>\n

In the background to all this, Israel\u2019s national security cabinet met and decided to vote on Netanyahu\u2019s proposal<\/a> to \u201cact to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority,\u201d which included economic measures to prop it up. The only ones opposed to this proposal were Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich (declaring \u201cthere will be no economic relief to the Palestinians\u201d), whose absolutist positions will, according to the mainstream Israeli military-security establishment, lead to a \u201csecurity disaster\u201d for Israel.<\/p>\n

The danger posed by the inauguration of the unofficial second phase of the Jenin operation is that it might serve as a precursor to de-escalating the resistance. What\u2019s harder is that the resistance groups can hardly turn down aid to rebuild the camp \u2014 and nor should they \u2014 but as the aid flows in, the challenge to the resistance groups will no longer only be airstrikes and assassination missions, but a trojan horse waving a white flag and tempting them to give up their weapons in exchange for prosperity. Whether the resistance accedes to these pressures and goes the route of the Lions\u2019 Den (many of whose members gave up their weapons to the PA in exchange for alleged amnesty) is uncertain. But if the Jenin Brigade remains staunch in upholding its resistance line, Israel\u2019s onslaught will continue apace, alternating as it always has between military power and soft counterinsurgency.<\/p>\n

Depending on whether the PA decides to crack down on the resistance or let it continue to exist in parallel to the PA, the resistance will either continue to maintain a presence in Jenin or be faced with the harrowing reality of being besieged from within and without. The resistance will have to strike a delicate balance between continuing to resist the Zionist colonial project and refraining from having to confront the PA head-on, which would risk a devolution into intra-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n

Go to Original – mondoweiss.net<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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