By Neelam Rahim

Israeli military raids and killings became an almost daily reality in Jenin and Nablus over the past year.

The raids are a part of a campaign Israel calls “Break the Wave”. Under which it carries out mass arrests and killings in places such as the two northern occupied West Bank cities, aimed toward fighters affiliated with armed groups like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) al-Quds Brigades and Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The campaign is geared toward crushing a growing shift towards an increasingly organised Palestinian armed resistance in Jenin and Nablus that emerged on the heels of a famous mass outburst of Palestinian resistance in May 2021. It began in occupied East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and led to Israel’s war with armed groups in Gaza.

Israel’s military campaign began shortly after a string of attacks by Palestinians that killed 19 people in Israel between March and May 2022. Two of the men who disbursed the attacks were from Jenin.

Break the Wave isn’t just restricted to raids – Israel’s three-day assault on the blockaded Gaza Strip in August, where 49 Palestinians, including 17 children, were killed, was also conducted as a part of that campaign.

In Jenin, the Israelis have found a capable adversary. A group referred to as the Jenin Brigades has shot at Israeli military checkpoints and engages in armed clashes during Israeli raids. Now, when the Israelis enter Jenin, they’re not just met by rocks but also by bullets.

The group, mainly supported by the PIJ but also including young men from Hamas, Fatah and the popular front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), had posed a significant challenge to the Israeli occupation.

They first emerged in September 2021 in an endeavour to guard six Palestinian prisoners against Jenin, who had gone on the run after breaking out of an Israeli jail.

“It is worrying for Israel because these fighters now represent a problem; during any raid, these fighters will confront and resist,” political analyst Ismat Mansour told Al Jazeera.

Source: Al-Jazeera