TEHRAN - The Israeli army’s Gaza-like offensive in the West Bank has left a trail of death and destruction but the regime has failed to achieve its goals.

On August 28, Israel launched its largest military assault on the northern West Bank since 2002 with the aim of eliminating resistance fighters. It has carried out raids in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and the Al-Fara camp. 

More than three dozen Palestinians have been killed during the 10-day offensive and 140 others injured. 

Israeli forces began to withdraw from Jenin early on Friday which has been the focus of the regime’s brutal offensive since late last month. 

The withdrawal has provided an opportunity for the Jenin residents to return to their homes and assess the damage to their properties. They fear that the Israeli military may return to the city and launch further attacks. 

Nonetheless, Israeli raids elsewhere in the West Bank have continued. Settlers backed by the Israeli army have also ratcheted up violence against Palestinians. 

According to Al Jazeera, settlers attacked the Palestinian villages of Khader Kayed Bani Odeh and Khader Shahada Bani Odeh in the northern Jordan Valley.

Israel’s brutal tactics 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has accused Israel of transferring to the occupied West Bank its brutal destruction and devastation in the Gaza Strip.

The ministry said the Israeli raids in Jenin and Tulkarem were “a clear targeting of Palestinian civilians and the foundations of their national and human existence on their homeland”.

Nonetheless, Israeli far-right ministers have called for an intensified crackdown in the West Bank. 

Flight of imagination 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to include the defeat of Hamas in the occupied West Bank among the goals of the war in Gaza.

“We must not repeat the mistakes, war on Hamas – also in Judea and Samaria!” Ben-Gvir, who has repeatedly and openly called for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, said on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

A surge in Israeli military and settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has unfolded in the shadow of the regime’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Since Israel launched war on Gaza on October 7 last year, it has killed around 40,900 Palestinians and destroyed much of the territory. But it has failed to eliminate Hamas which has been Netanyahu’s main goal since the start of the conflict.

Hence, Ben-Gvir’s request for including the eradication of Hamas in the West Bank in Israel’s war goals is like going on a wild goose chase. 

Resistance fighters have not only put up stiff resistance against occupation forces in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin, but have also proved that they have the upper hand on the Gaza battlefield. 

Israel was under the illusion that its deadly military campaign in Gaza would pit Palestinians against Hamas. But over the past months, support for Hamas has grown both in Gaza and the West Bank. 

Israel’s continued crackdown in the West Bank will further encourage Palestinians to throw their weight behind resistance groups. Ultimately, rising resistance will lead to more casualties among Israeli soldiers. 

Meanwhile, senior Israeli military officials have admitted that Netanyahu’s “total victory” dream over Hamas will remain futile which has resulted in widespread disillusionment among the regime’s troops.

To prevent further disgrace, Netanyahu could at least embolden his soldiers to commit seppuku which was the honorable method of taking one’s own life practiced by men of the samurai (military) class in feudal Japan.