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The ink barelyhad time todry on the
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Gaza ceasefiredeal beforeIsrael's
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militarylaunchedanother attackon
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Palestinians. But this isthe occupied
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West Bank. Within days,
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Israeli forceshave killed adozen people
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and woundedmany more. It's acoordinated
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operation. Raids havebeen happening
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across theterritory,from Jericho
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to Bethlehemto Ramallah. But the
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largest is inJenin. Israeliforces have
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been on theground and inthe air.
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They've bombedbuildings,detaineddozens of
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Palestiniansand, as usual,bulldozed
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roads. Butit's not justIsraeli forces
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who have beentargetingJenin. In
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December, thePalestinianAuthority,which
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administerspart of theWest Bank,
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launched itsown operationin the Jenin
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refugee camp. The crackdownwas aimed at
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rival groupslike Hamas andIslamic Jihad.
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The UN'srefugee agencysays therefugee camp
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has becomenearlyuninhabitable,with an
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estimated 2000familiesdisplaced
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since then. Weknow Israeluses its waron
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Palestiniansas a testingground for not
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only weaponsbut alsotactics, and
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IsraeliDefenseMinisterIsrael Katz
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said forcesare nowapplying in
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Jenin thetactic of
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repeated raidslearned fromthe war in
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Gaza. They saythey'retargetingterrorist
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groups. Oh,and then thereare the
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settlers. TheIsraelimilitary set
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up dozens morecheckpoints tostop farmers
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from reachingtheirfarmlands andto seal
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civilians intoentire cities
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such as Hebronand Bethlehem. And that's
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allowedsettlers totry to takeover those
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unattendedfarms. It'sall part of an
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ongoingstate-backedstrategy ofillegal
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settlementexpansion. Palestinians
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fear it's alsoabout WestBank
-
annexation. One of thefirst things
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Donald Trumpdid when hetook office
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was cancelBiden erasanctions on
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far rightIsraelisettler groupsand
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individualsaccused ofviolenceagainst
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Palestinians. We don't knowif any
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promises weremade toIsraeliofficials in
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return forbacking theGazacease-fire.
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There's alsoTrump's UNenvoy, Elise
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Stefanik. Idid ask youwhether you
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subscribe tothe views ofFinance
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MinisterSmotridge. Ofwho?I'm sorry,Finance
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Smotrich. Thisis the IsraeliFinance
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MinisterSmotrich andand the formerNational
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SecurityMinister Ben
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Gavir, whobelieve thatIsrael has a
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biblical rightto the entire
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West Bank. Isthat your view
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today?Yes. OK,Israel'sFinance
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MinisterBezaleelSmotrich haswarned Israel
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is preparingfor anotherwar, but in
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his own words,this time inthe West Bank
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until completevictory.
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Smotrich isalso in chargeof thesettlement
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project andhas announcedIsrael will
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annex the WestBank thisyear. That is
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about 94% ofthe territory
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meant for afuturePalestinianstate.