Israeli forces began to withdraw from the West Bank city of Jenin early this morning as rockets were fired from Gaza – although all were intercepted and no casualties were reported. The Israeli operation in Jenin has left 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead, as well as injuring 120 Palestinians. Yesterday eight Israelis were injured in a car-ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv – praised by Hamas as a “heroic” response to the Jenin raid. Despite the attack, Tel Aviv remained calm. “Day-to-day this is our life here,” one local says. “We wake up in the morning, we run, we continue, but this needs to stop… ultimately both sides want peace.” That may be the view on the street, but the two-state blueprint once seen as pre-requisite for peace is barely spoken of and dialogue has given way to running battles over settlements and security.
Photograph Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images