Foreign Min-Military Op Limited To Jenin, No Wider West Bank Plans

Wires carrying comments from Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, stating that the ongoing military operation in the Palestinian city of Jenin is 'limited to the city' and that there are 'no wider West Bank plans.' The military operation, focused on the Jenin refugee camp is the largest Israeli Defence Force (IDF) assault in the West Bank in several years. The Israeli gov't states that the operation is intended to 'thwart terror'.

• Violence and Palestinian/Israeli settler tensions within the West Bank had been at multi-year highs in recent months. Much of the rhetoric surrounding West Bank tensions has been intensified by comments made by Israeli gov't ministers. The presence of far-right parties within PM Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition has seen hard-liners within Israel seemingly more confident to advocate military intervention within the West Bank.
• The muted reaction from Israeli assets suggests that, as can often be the case with security escalations, that unless the events begin to take a significant toll on gov't/social stability, supply chains, or international relations then the wider fallout is likely to prove limited.