The announcement came shortly after President Trump rescinded Biden-era sanctions on Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists raided Palestinian villages in protest against the cease-fire in Gaza.
Israeli security forces on Tuesday embarked on a military operation in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that has become a hotbed of militancy, just days after a temporary cease-fire took hold in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in a statement that the operation was aimed at “eradicating terrorism” and would be “extensive and significant.” The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry reported that six people had been killed and at least 35 injured during the first two hours of the operation.
It comes amid sharply rising tensions in the West Bank, where militants have grown in power and settler violence against Palestinian civilians has soared.
On Monday, President Trump rescinded sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on dozens of far-right Israeli individuals and settler groups accused of violence against Palestinians and the seizure or destruction of Palestinian property.
The move came shortly after Mr. Trump took office, even as Jewish extremists raided several Palestinian villages, setting fire to vehicles and properties, according to Palestinian officials and the Israeli military.
The Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over parts of the West Bank, has been carrying out its own operation against armed militants in Jenin in recent weeks after largely leaving security in the area to Israel. The Israeli military has carried out deadly raids and drone strikes in the northern West Bank over the past year targeting armed Palestinian militants. The raids have chewed up streets and left many Palestinian civilians in fear.