We won't leave: Palestinians in northern occupied West Bank reject Israeli military evacuation order

Israel has begun its largest attack in the north of the occupied West Bank since 2002 during the Second Intifada, with hundreds of Israeli military and police personnel operating in the cities of Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas. 

Airstrikes have been reported in both Jenin refugee camp and Tubas, with nine Palestinians being killed in the assault so far, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

"At least nine Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli soldiers in Jenin and Tulkarem," Wiam Bakr, director of Jenin Governmental Hospital, told The New Arab. 

He added that the Israeli forces surrounded the hospital and prevented medical staff from entering.

Israel's assault on the occupied West Bank comes amid its continued war on Gaza, with Palestinian news agency Wafa reporting that 17 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli shelling on the enclave this morning.

In an alarming statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said on Wednesday that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank must be displaced and pushed out of their homes.

"We must deal with the threat in the same way we dealt […] in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of residents and any necessary steps. This is a war on everything, and we must win it," Katz said.

The assault on Jenin comes just weeks after Israel approved the largest seizure of land in the West Bank in over 30 years.

Meanwhile, the Israeli troops have been firing indiscriminately as Israeli bulldozers dig up roads and airstrikes pounding the area, according to local eyewitness.

In Tulkarem, residents informed TNA that the Israeli army officially ordered them to evacuate their houses in four hours only. 

"I have received a phone call from an Israeli soldier who asked me to evacuate my house as the army will carry out heavy military operations in the territory," Mohammed, a Palestinian man in Tulkarm, who preferred to not mention his name, remarked to TNA. 

He said that he would never abide by the Israelis' orders. "It is our land, and we will never leave our houses to experience displacement like our brethren in Gaza," he added. 

Sami, another Palestinian man based in Jenin, also told TNA that Israeli soldiers have told their neighbourhood to "temporarily" evacuate their houses before launching their military attack. 

"But none of our people implement their orders," Sami said. "This is a criminal army [...] They will kill anyone they want whenever and wherever. We will not leave our houses for settlers to occupy them under the army's protection."

Palestinian armed factions say they are ready to fight

Israel's large-scale attack on the occupied West Bank comes a day after killing five Palestinians in Tulkarm under the pretext of being affiliated with al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. 

Israel assassinated the five young men less than a week after assassinating three others in the Tulkarm in an approach that has become more common in the West Bank after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant announced about a month ago that restrictions on the use of warplanes in the West Bank would be lifted to “eliminate” the armed battalions there. 

As a result, al-Qassam Brigades vowed to expand the confrontation with Israel in the occupied West Bank.

In a press statement, Palestinian armed factions stated that they are confronting the Israeli army, and they will never allow it to achieve their goals. 

"This is our time to fight this army [...] We are ready to resume our armed resistance in the West Bank and expel the occupation from our lands. We have been preparing for this battle for years," a Palestinian militant remarked to TNA. 

"If the Israeli army thinks that they will enter and leave easily, they are wrong as our Palestinian people will face him by all means," the militant declared. 

So far, there is no confirmation if the Palestinian Authority security forces will join armed militants in the camp to confront the Israeli army. 

Some locals expect, however, that if the Israeli army expands its operations, some of the PA forces will join the battle as it happened on various occasions in the past, mainly during "the Second Intifada".