Israel CUTS OFF communications in Jenin as it expands military operations in the occupied West Bank

By richardbrown // 2024-08-30

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Internet and landline services were cut off in Jenin on Thursday, Aug. 29, as Israel's largest military operation in the occupied West Bank in more than 20 years entered its second day. The Palestinian Telecommunications Company (Paltel) and Ooredoo Palestine, the two largest telecommunications companies in the occupied West Bank, reported that the ongoing connectivity failure to Jenin was caused by the latest series of Israeli aggression against Jenin, which has damaged their man and backup lines in the area. One of these actions reportedly involved Israeli bulldozers plowing through telecommunications infrastructure, severing communications throughout the city. Additionally, electricity and water lines have been damaged, exacerbating the already dire situation. Paramedics have reported significant challenges, with repeated communication losses due to interference on their channels. Israeli military vehicles have also delayed medical teams from reaching hospitals, further endangering lives. Paltel and Ooredoo have sent out technical crews to restore services as quickly as possible despite the difficult situation on the ground.

Incursion into Jenin led to the deaths of top Palestinian militants

The Israeli offensive against Jenin began early Wednesday, Aug. 28, with coordinated land and air attacks on Jenin and on two other cities in the northern West Bank, Tulkarm and Tubas. The next day, the Israeli Defense Forces announced that it had killed and retrieved the bodies of five Palestinians, including Muhammad Jaber, a top commander of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Tulkarm. Their killings brought the total death toll from the current assault up to 18. (Related: Israeli official threatens to turn West Bank into RUINS just like the Gaza Strip.) Among the other victims was Muhammad al-Orabi, a young man from Jenin, whose two brothers were killed in previous raids. Palestinian medical sources confirmed that Orabi was shot by Israeli soldiers near his home in Jein's Old City neighborhood. Journalist Ali Samoudi, a Jenin resident, stated that Orabi posed no threat when he was shot, adding that Israeli snipers stationed across the city were ordered to "shoot at any moving object." "My house is in the eastern neighborhood, and there is a sniper stationed opposite it, which prevented me from leaving the house for several hours because orders are given to them to shoot at anyone," Samoudi told Middle East Eye (MEE). According to Samoudi, Israeli military vehicles continue to besiege Jenin Governmental Hospital, obstructing medical teams from accessing the facility while conducting inspections. Residents in Jenin reported hearing intermittent armed clashes and the detonation of explosive devices targeting Israeli military vehicles on Thursday. "From the first moments of the Israeli invasion, the electricity was cut off. We have been without electricity and water for 48 hours," a Jenin resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told MEE. "The situation is really, really bad. Food in our refrigerators has gone bad, so we are forced to leave Jenin and take shelter with relatives outside the city." The resident added that there was no internet access or even the ability to charge phones, describing the conditions as akin to those in Gaza. In Tulkarm, residents of the Nour Shams camp reported being unable to move on Thursday due to a tight Israeli army siege that has sealed off the area amid ongoing violent raids on homes. Nihad al-Shawish, head of the camp's popular committee, described the offensive as "very ferocious." "The raids on homes are brutal and are carried out with police dogs that don’t hesitate to attack citizens," Shawish told MEE. "Young men are also detained after being taken to several buildings inside the camp, tied up, blindfolded, and subjected to field interrogation." Shawish said people are crammed into their homes, hearing gunfire amid ongoing incursions into dozens of homes, terrorizing their residents. Israeli bulldozers have also ripped up streets in the area, cutting off water to the entire camp, according to local reports. Shawish noted that Israeli media reports were spreading rumors that the army had asked residents to leave voluntarily, although he said this was the only time he had heard such "evacuation" discussed. The siege on Nour Shams camp extended to the Al-Manshiya neighborhood, where Israeli soldiers prevented the transfer of the body of a Palestinian with special needs killed by the Israeli army on Wednesday evening. On Thursday afternoon, the Israeli army blew up a house in the neighborhood, igniting a fire that spread to nearby homes. Watch this video of an attack by Israeli security forces and armed Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the village of Beita in the occupied West Bank. This video is from the channel Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth on Brighteon.com.

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Incursion into Jenin led to the deaths of top Palestinian militants

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