With drone strike, IDF changes West Bank rules in response to emboldened terrorism

The military’s use of airpower in the West Bank twice this week, after refraining for two decades, indicates Israel is looking to change the rules of the game when it comes to fighting Palestinian terror. This appears to have come after Palestinian armed groups changed the rules first, by ramping up terror attacks and more heavily resisting Israeli operations.

The northern West Bank, and especially the city of Jenin and its environs, have long been considered by the Israel Defense Forces hotbeds of terrorism, highlighted by a string of attacks in early 2022 of which many were carried out by residents of the area. Several of Israel’s targeted airstrikes in the West Bank during the Second Palestinian Intifada in the early 2000s also occurred in Jenin, as did one major battle during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.

While Jenin has never been considered totally off-limits for Israeli military raids, the IDF has seen more significant resistance by Palestinian gunmen in the city over the years, with much heavier gunfire compared to other West Bank cities, especially in recent months. This became all the more apparent during an IDF raid on Monday when a large roadside bomb was detonated near a convoy of military vehicles. READ MORE