Jordan and Egypt condemn Israel’s Jenin counter-terrorism operation

Israel's two neighbors notably did not condemn the terror activity originating in Jenin that led to the military operation

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Egypt, two Arab nations that have diplomatic relations with Israel, blasted the Jewish state on Monday for its large-scale military operation against terror infrastructure in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Jordan condemned the Israeli “aggression” and urged the international community to stop Israel before the developments on the ground “explode.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who spoke with senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein Al-Shekih, labeled the Israeli defensive counter-terrorism operation, known as Operation Home & Garden, as “a dangerous escalation that would set off wide cycles of violence.”

Jordan’s top diplomat also warned that “the repeated Israeli attacks on Palestinian cities will only contribute to increasing tension, which is also fueled by illegal Israeli measures that undermine the two-state solution and kill hope in the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace.”

However, Jordan notably did not condemn the growing anti-Israel terrorism in Jenin that eventually led to the ongoing Israeli operation. Jenin has emerged as a major terror hub amid waning Palestinian Authority influence in the area.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a similar condemnation of the Israeli counter-terrorism operation.

“Israeli aggression against Palestinian cities and the innocent civilian victims,” stated the foreign ministry in Cairo.

Like their Jordanian counterparts, Egyptian officials ignored the considerable anti-Israel terrorism in Jenin and, instead, referred to recent Jewish settler violence in Judea and Samaria, accusing the Jewish state of escalating violence against local Arab residents.

Egypt urged the international community “to put an end to these violations and to provide protection for the Palestinian people, whose suffering is increasing every day.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the West Bank and Gaza, Lynn Hastings, said she was “alarmed” by the Israeli operation and lamented that “airstrikes were used in the densely populated refugee camp.”

The refugee camp outside Jenin has emerged as the epicenter of anti-Israel terrorism in the northern West Bank.