On June 19, Israel called for a major military operation against the West Bank city of Jenin. Israel's National Security Adviser downplayed the prospect of normalizing relations with Riyadh through a US-mediated role.
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| Fighting in Jenin refugee camp could spark new spike in violence between Israel and Palestine. (Source: Flash90) |
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, said it was now necessary to stop individual raids and focus on large-scale attacks on Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
The far-right politician even proposed sending tanks and fighter jets into the fight, and requested an urgent meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet following the incident. On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited and encouraged soldiers injured in the Jenin military operation at Rambam Hospital.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has reacted strongly to the Israeli raid that killed five Arabs and injured 66 others. The Palestinian state news agency WAFA quoted Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, as saying that the fighting in the Jenin refugee camp could spark a new peak of violence.
He also called on the international community, especially the US government, to intervene to prevent Israel's attacks.
On the same day, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said that there was no prospect of connecting flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia in 2023 so that Jews could perform the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage. Mr. Hanegbi also did not emphasize the future of normalizing relations with Riyadh through the US as an intermediary.
Earlier this year, Israel announced that it would soon launch flights to the two holiest sites for Muslims in Saudi Arabia, allowing 18% of Israel's Muslim population to visit the sites annually (from June 25 to July 2).
The Israeli government said that this was an effort to promote the process of normalizing relations with Riyadh with the US acting as an intermediary. However, Saudi Arabia rarely expressed its stance on flights carrying pilgrims to Israel.
In an interview with KAN , Mr. Hanegbi said that no airline in his country has registered to carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Speaking to Israel Hayom earlier, the official affirmed that Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have a clear opportunity to promote a peace agreement.
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