Israeli Forces Withdraw from Jenin After Major Operation

Video released by the Israeli army showed Israeli troops the army said were operating in the West Bank area of Jenin in an operation they said was aimed at thwarting militant groups planning attacks on Israeli civilians.

Israeli troops are seen traveling in a vehicle, walking inside buildings and in residential streets at night time.

The video was released hours after Israeli forces pulled out of the Palestinian city of Jenin, following one of the biggest security operations in the occupied West Bank in months, which involved hundreds of troops and police backed by helicopters and drones entering all areas of the city and the adjacent refugee camp as well as surrounding villages.

The army said troops had killed 14 militant fighters during the operation, including the local commander of Hamas in Jenin. Forces also arrested 30 suspects, dismantled dozens of explosives planted under roads and an underground weapons storage depot underneath a mosque, and confiscated weapons, the army said.

Jenin has long been a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions, and the Israeli military said the operation, which also targeted the city of Tulkarm.

Thousands of people joined his funeral procession, along with that of other men killed during the operation and whose bodies were wrapped either in Palestinian flags or the green, black and yellow flags of Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Fatah whilst armed men shot in the air.

Israeli forces pulled out of Jenin, leaving a mass of damaged buildings and infrastructure, following one of the biggest security operations in the occupied West Bank in months.

Many of the Palestinians who were killed in Jenin during the operation were claimed as members by the armed factions but a number were uninvolved civilians.

Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, has long been a stronghold of Palestinian armed factions, and the Israeli military said the operation, which also targeted the city of Tulkarm.