Shooting, explosions rock Jenin

JENIN, Jan 22 (AFP/AP): Gunfire and explosions rocked the occupied West Bank's Jenin area on Wednesday, a Palestinian official and an AFP reporter said, as the Israeli military pressed on for a second day with a large-scale raid.
The operation, launched just days after a ceasefire paused fighting in Gaza, has left at least 10 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israeli officials have said the raid is part of a broader campaign against militants in the occupied West Bank, citing thousands of attack attempts since the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023.
"The situation is very difficult," Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, told AFP.
"The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to the Jenin camp and leading to the Jenin Governmental Hospital... There is shooting and explosions," he added, referring to the Israeli military.
Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, the official said.
An AFP correspondent reported that gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from Jenin refugee camp, a hotbed of militancy where Israeli forces have regularly carried out raids.
In December, security forces from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority were also involved in similar clashes with the militants in and around Jenin.
The Israeli military on Wednesday said it was continuing on with the operation, dubbed "Iron Wall", adding that they have "neutralised over 10 terrorists."
"Additionally, aerial strikes on terror infrastructure sites were conducted and numerous explosives planted on the routes by the terrorists were dismantled," it said in a statement.
Suspected settlers
attack Palestinian
villages
Shortly after suspected Jewish settlers stormed Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank late Monday, setting cars and property ablaze, U.S. President Donald Trump canceled sanctions against Israelis accused of violence in the territory.
The reversal of the Biden administration's sanctions, which were meant to punish radical settlers, could set the tone for a presidency that is expected to be more tolerant of Israel's expansion of settlements and of violence toward Palestinians. In Trump's previous term he lavished support on Israel, and he has once again surrounded himself with aides who back the settlers.
Settler leaders rushed to praise Trump's decision on the sanctions, which were first imposed nearly a year ago as violence surged during the war in Gaza. The sanctions were later expanded to include other Israelis seen as violent or radical.