Israel Today – Adapted

For long months, the likelihood of a large-scale anti-resistance campaign in the northern West Bank has been discussed for the ensuing crucial reasons: the resistance has grown in the last 18 months and has become more ferocious since the beginning of 2023. It has also developed a variety of homegrown weapons, such as explosives like those used in the Jenin campaign, and the Palestinian Authority's lack of control. All of these factors resulted in chaos in the region.

The only factor keeping everything from blowing up is the unprecedented level of thwart that the Israeli army and Shabak utilize to stop the fedayeen operations. Hence, the Israeli army will eventually launch a wide-scale military campaign in the northern West Bank.

The political leadership has a responsibility to establish international legitimacy prior to joining the campaign, not only for this particular campaign but also for the sequence from which it would emerge. Hamas' double-edged strategy is demonstrated by the fact that some resistance fighters are its members; while the Gaza Strip is quiet, Hamas encourages its resistance fighters in the occupied West Bank to conduct fedayeen operations.

Israel assassinated leaders of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Gaza precisely as a result of this double-edged game. It must now decide whether to play tactically, only in the Bank, or to explain the border to Hamas, even at the cost of a new escalation in the south (and possibly also in the north). However, the recent deterioration in security on all fronts suggests that those who don't make efforts to deter violence in the West Bank will be challenged sooner or later.