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video from Jenin is spreading rapidly on social media. While international observers pass judgement before the facts are known, Israeli forces are risking their lives to dismantle terrorist structures that have long since become a threat to the entire country.
The incident reported last week from Jenin is already a political and media minefield. A video shows two wanted terrorists stepping out of a half-open garage door before being shot by Israeli forces. "Palestinian" authorities immediately spread the accusation of an ‘execution after surrender.’ But the full sequence of events described by the Israeli military and border police tells a different, more complex story, a story embedded in the largest security operation in northern Samaria in years.
According to the IDF and border police, the building where the two terrorists were hiding was surrounded for hours. The suspects belonged to a terrorist cell that had planted explosive devices, fired at Israeli soldiers and prepared attacks in recent weeks. Security forces repeatedly tried to persuade the men to surrender. Only after the suspects failed to respond was an excavator used to partially open the building, as is customary with suspicious structures that could be rigged with improvised explosive devices.
The published video begins at precisely this point without showing the long and dangerous hours that preceded it. It shows two men stepping out of the darkness. However, according to statements made by the soldiers involved, the situation unfolded differently than the video suggests. The men left the building but immediately began to move back inside, contrary to instructions. One soldier told Army Radio: ‘One of the terrorists suddenly returned to the building, and the other followed him. Under these circumstances, the forces had to act.’
In operations of this kind, there is always the risk that terrorists will detonate booby traps, draw weapons or prepare an ambush. The Jenin region has long been a hotspot for heavy fighting, where terrorist cells maintain equipment, explosives workshops and weapons depots. Retreating into a secure building is considered an acute danger situation. The soldiers decided at that moment to open fire.
The operation in Jenin is part of a much larger operation called ‘Broad Counter-Terrorism Manoeuvre,’ which the Israeli military has launched in cooperation with the Shin Bet. Since Wednesday, over 220 properties have been searched, weapons caches destroyed, hideouts cleared out and large sums of cash seized that were intended to finance attacks. Dozens of suspects have been arrested, including several Hamas operatives.
The Jenin area has been a centre of radicalisation for years. In recent months, terrorist groups have been working to create a connected military network from several villages in northern Samaria. Israeli security services openly say that imminent attacks have been prevented.
This incident should be viewed in this context: a dangerous, volatile moment in the midst of a highly complex operation. It shows how quickly situations can change, how quickly soldiers have to make decisions and how often the visual narrative of social networks replaces complex reality.
Israel is not carrying out this operation arbitrarily, but out of necessity. Because security does not come from hope, it comes from consistent action against structures that view murder as a political tool.