National Security Council Head Tzachi Hanegbi on Tuesday morning told Reshet Bet Radio that although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday night that Operation House and Garden would continue as long as necessary until the mission is completed, it is estimated that the operation is nearing its end and may reach its conclusion on Wednesday, and the troops would pull out.
IDF spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari said Tuesday morning that so far, hundreds of explosive charges were captured and only 10 targets remained to be exposed at the center of the Jenin refugee camp, where explosive charges are manufactured and may be sheltering terrorists.
So far, more than 120 terrorists out of an estimated 300 have been arrested, and nine eliminated. According to Hagari, all nine dead Arabs were involved in terrorism. However, there may have been a few innocent bystanders among the hundred or so that were injured.
The IDF was criticized for using heavy D9 bulldozers to scrape the refugee camp’s roads. Hagari explained that this was done in response to the heavy explosive charge that trapped an armored troops carrier a week ago – the bulldozers are making sure there’s no such trap remaining.
The IDF scored a propaganda bonanza on Monday, following an exchange of fire with terrorists who were hiding in a mosque. Instead of demolishing the holy place, IDF soldiers documented how it had been used to shelter terrorists and store weapons and explosives. Acting on information from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, fighters from the Egoz and Yahalom special forces searched the lower floor of the mosque and located pits packed with weapons and other military equipment the terrorist had stashed there.
The Palestinian Authority leadership decided on Monday night to stop all contact with the Israeli side, especially the security coordination. This formally terminates any remaining usefulness of the PA, the way the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin envisioned it as fighting terrorism on behalf of Israel without interruptions from B’Tselem or the High Court of Justice. Why should Israel continue to support the PA economically remains a mystery.
The PA’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh invite the heads of the terrorist factions to an emergency meeting to “agree on a comprehensive national vision and unite the ranks to confront the Israeli aggression.”
Thank you, Mr. Rabin.
Meanwhile, the PA Health Health confirmed two more deaths overnight by IDF gunfire in Jenin, which raises the total killed in the two-day incursion to 10. The same announcement also revealed that “thousands of Palestinian civilians were forced by the Israeli soldiers to leave their homes in Jenin refugee camp and take shelter elsewhere in the city.”
Sooner or later, there’s going to be a Nakba, folks (Naqba Time: Arab Civilians Evacuating Jenin, IDF Jet Seen Overhead).
