Despite allegations by PLO officials that Israel carried out a “massacre” in the Jenin area, the IDF emphasizes that there is no truth to those claims. Senior military officials explain there were only around fifty Arabs killed during intense battles with IDF troops. The PLO had previously announced that there were hundreds of Arabs killed during the IDF offensive. The IDF had entered Jenin about two weeks ago with the goal of wiping out that town’s terrorist infrastructure.
The IDF also refutes PLO claims that its forces have been targeting Arab civilians in Jenin and on other Operation Defensive Shield fronts throughout Yesha. Senior army commanders explain that the IDF strategy of searching for wanted terrorists, “house to house,” in order to limit the number of Arab casualties, has in fact put the troops in greater danger and has resulted in greater fatalities to IDF soldiers. In addition, The IDF has refrained from carpet-bombing entire areas, while other nations, including the United States in its war in Afghanistan, has used the tactic while targeting terrorist strongholds.
In Jenin yesterday, IDF soldiers identified a young boy carrying a suspicious bag. When the boy noticed that he was spotted by the troops, he threw the bag on the ground and fled. The soldiers discovered that the bag contained three pipe bombs with a total explosives weight of 4.5 kilograms. IDF sappers were called in to destroy the devices. The IDF spokesman expresses deep shock at the barbaric use of children as explosives carriers.
The IDF also refutes PLO claims that its forces have been targeting Arab civilians in Jenin and on other Operation Defensive Shield fronts throughout Yesha. Senior army commanders explain that the IDF strategy of searching for wanted terrorists, “house to house,” in order to limit the number of Arab casualties, has in fact put the troops in greater danger and has resulted in greater fatalities to IDF soldiers. In addition, The IDF has refrained from carpet-bombing entire areas, while other nations, including the United States in its war in Afghanistan, has used the tactic while targeting terrorist strongholds.
In Jenin yesterday, IDF soldiers identified a young boy carrying a suspicious bag. When the boy noticed that he was spotted by the troops, he threw the bag on the ground and fled. The soldiers discovered that the bag contained three pipe bombs with a total explosives weight of 4.5 kilograms. IDF sappers were called in to destroy the devices. The IDF spokesman expresses deep shock at the barbaric use of children as explosives carriers.