Tensions continue to escalate in the West Bank as Israeli forces eliminated two Palestinian militants in Nablus on Friday, just days after a large-scale two-day operation in Jenin concluded. This incident raises concerns about the long-term effectiveness of the Jenin raid, which involved airstrikes, troop deployments, and resulted in significant infrastructure damage, claiming the lives of 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier.

Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, identified the two individuals killed in Nablus as those responsible for an earlier attack on a police vehicle. The confrontation took place in the city center, a major commercial hub in the West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the deaths, naming the men as 34-year-old Khayri Mohammed Sari Shaheen and 32-year-old Hamza Moayed Mohammed Maqbool. Both the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have acknowledged them as members.

The scene following the shootout was grim, with bullet casings scattered across the bloodstained ground. Palestinians transported the bodies to the hospital, chanting religious slogans and firing weapons into the air.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commended the operation, vowing to continue targeting militants and ensuring they face consequences for their actions. This incident is the latest in a year-long cycle of violence, with a Hamas militant's attack on Thursday near a West Bank settlement resulting in the death of an Israeli soldier.

The image depicts Palestinians carrying a body after an Israeli military raid in Nablus on July 7, 2023.

The recent events in Jenin bear resemblance to the second Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s, a period marked by intense violence. However, the current conflict is more localized, with Israeli operations concentrating on specific militant strongholds. Israel's increased raids in the West Bank over the past 16 months are a response to a surge in Palestinian attacks last spring. The northern West Bank, particularly Nablus and Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority's influence is weaker, has become a central point of conflict.

The death toll in the West Bank this year has exceeded 150 Palestinians, while at least 27 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, including four settlers in a shooting last month. While Israel asserts that most Palestinian casualties are militants, the number also includes protesting youths and bystanders. This ongoing conflict underscores the complex and deeply rooted tensions in the region, as Palestinians continue to seek an independent state in territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.