Israeli operation to undermine peace talks in region, won’t set off war — analyst
Boris Dolgov said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to Beijing in July for talks with the Chinese leadership on the prospects for solving the crisis in the region
MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. The Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin is unlikely to evolve into a large-scale regional conflict, but will harm the Middle East peace settlement, Boris Dolgov, a senior researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the Institute of Asian Studies, told TASS on Monday.
"Most likely it will be an intensive military operation, but a limited one. Of course, it won’t trigger a broad conflict involving some other Arab countries or Iran," he said.
Dolgov said that Israel's actions will draw condemnation from the Arab world as well as Tehran. According to the analyst, Tel Aviv's move to conduct military operations in the West Bank will definitely take a toll on the process of settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Dolgov said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to Beijing in July for talks with the Chinese leadership on the prospects for solving the crisis in the region.
"We remember that the Chinese leadership even offered to mediate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This, in my opinion, is still a very positive trend," the analyst said.
He said he believes that the outcome of the visit will influence the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in the Middle East as a whole.
Israeli forces started a sweeping operation in Jenin and an adjacent Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank overnight into Monday. The Israeli Army entered Jenin and surrounded the camp, disconnecting it from power supply and sealing off roads. In a raid of the camp, the military found and seized an improvised rocket launcher. According to the Israeli Kan Radio station, the operation aims to "restore Israel's deterrence" against radicals in the north of the West Bank.
The last time the Israel Defense Forces conducted a sweeping operation in Jenin was on June 19. Then, the purpose of the raid was to detain wanted persons. Since April 10, 2022, Israeli forces have conducted counterterrorism operations and raids in the West Bank. They followed a series of terrorist attacks in Israeli cities.