AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: While a ceasefire is largely holding in Gaza, Israel is intensifying attacks on the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has killed at least 13 people in a major military operation targeting Jenin that began on Tuesday when Israeli troops raided the city, backed by airstrikes, drones and Apache helicopters. Meanwhile, Israeli settler groups have carried out a new wave of attacks against Palestinians. On his first day in office, Trump rescinded sanctions imposed by President Biden on far-right Israeli settler groups. This is Jalal Basheer, head of the Village Council of Jinsafut.

JALAL BASHEER: [translated] Yesterday, we heard Trump’s statement that he would reverse sanctions against settlers that assault Palestinians, along with Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s release of arrested settlers. This all encourages violence and gives momentum to these attacks on our village.

AMY GOODMAN: Joining us now is Mariam Barghouti, Palestinian writer and journalist based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Her new piece for Drop Site News is headlined “Israel Invades Jenin Days After Signing Gaza 'Ceasefire.'”

Talk about that, Mariam, this connection between the ceasefire in Gaza and the intensified attacks on the West Bank and the number of people who have been killed, the role, and particularly if you can talk about doctors and hospitals being targeted.

MARIAM BARGHOUTI: All right. Thank you, Amy.

So, what we’re seeing right now is an operation dubbed Operation Iron Wall, waged by the Israeli government against the West Bank, specifically targeting Jenin and Jenin refugee camp that is north of the West Bank. And what we have seen in the last 72 hours is 13 Palestinians, at least, have been killed. Of them is a 16-year-old boy. Now, while the Israeli military spokesperson claims that they have targeted and eliminated 13 terrorists, it is important to recollect and realize that most were civilians that were killed, including a young 16-year-old boy, including a father who was killed in front of his son. And we’re seeing reports of field executions. But in fact, we actually don’t know the real number of those killed or injured, because the Israeli military is denying access to medical personnel inside the camp.

So, we’re seeing Israel wage a war that very much resembles the practices they have committed in Gaza. According to colleagues on the ground there, they’re comparing it to what Israel did in Jabaliya, north of Gaza, including the field executions, including the displacement of families at gunpoint, forcing them to escape their homes, and creating a corridor, a humanitarian corridor, from the camp to the outside of the camp, for families to leave, giving them until the end of today, or else. And this is what the soldiers would tell families: “Leave, or else.”

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Mariam, could you talk about the impact of the fact that on his first day in office, President Trump lifted Biden-era sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians? It was on that day itself that Israeli settlers stormed several villages in the occupied West Bank. If you could respond to that decision by Trump and what impact it’s had on the ground?

MARIAM BARGHOUTI: Of course, what we’re seeing with Trump’s swearing-in, the day after, is an emboldened Israeli regime. And let’s remember that in his last term, President Trump had declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which further pushed settlers to basically rampage through Jerusalem and the West Bank at unprecedented levels of violence against Palestinians.

So, what we’re seeing from the Palestinian end in regards to Trump’s inauguration again is a fear that settlers are going to even feel more emboldened, especially in light of the impunity that Israel has, despite the genocide it has committed in Gaza, because, as of now, we haven’t seen any real accountability measures against war criminals, Israeli war criminals. So Palestinians are frightened, while, on the other hand, we’re seeing settlers celebrate President Trump. In fact, in the E1 area near Jerusalem, settlers are calling for the renaming of some settlement blocks in honor of Trump as Trump blocks. So, we’re seeing the discrepancy here and disparity and the likely violence that may erupt in the coming weeks and months.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask the effect of the Trump presidency right now and how it is affecting what’s going on there. You have the choice to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former Congressmember Elise Stefanik, refusing to say Tuesday whether the Palestinian people have a right to self-determination. She made her comments while she was being questioned by the Senate Foreign Relations, Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who said — she said that Israel has a biblical right to dominion over the occupied West Bank. So, we’re talking about annexation of the West Bank. What does that mean, Mariam, for the people of the West Bank?

MARIAM BARGHOUTI: It means more displacement. It means pushing Palestinian families out of their lands. And we’re seeing this increase. The level of outposts being erected in the last 15 months has been unprecedented. And at the same time, primarily the American government, in support — with support from Europe, as well, and Canada, they have left the Palestinians completely defenseless. Palestinians are not allowed to have an army. Palestinians are not allowed to confront Israeli soldiers that are invading their homes.

Now, again, we must remember that the Israeli military is carrying out an offensive on Jenin, which is in the West Bank, which Israeli presence is deemed illegal under international law, and the U.N. has voted as Israel being illegally present in the West Bank and Gaza. So, what that means is more violence, but also it’s sinister in that the continued arming of Israel with D9 bulldozers, with BLU-109 bombs, and then the stripping of Palestinians not just of the right to self-determination but any capacity to survive — things like not condemning the cutting off of water from families, or electricity, or denying them medical capacity and access — it’s a very slow slaughter of Palestinians. So, if you survive a bullet, you don’t know if you’re going to survive daily life.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Mariam, could you also talk about — you’ve written about this, the fact that this Operation Iron Wall coincides with the longest and most lethal campaign by the Palestinian Authority also on Jenin?

MARIAM BARGHOUTI: Yes, yes. So, what we’re seeing in this operation, which the Israeli military spokes released a statement today saying it is the most advanced operation of its kind in the region and in the area — what we are seeing is direct coordination and collaboration with the Palestinian Authority, which has arrested journalists in the past few days who have covered Jenin, and they have arrested resistance fighters. And we have heard reports of them facing torture at the hands of the Palestinian Authority.

Now, it’s really important to recognize that Operation Iron Wall comes just a day after the Palestinian Authority allegedly ended its six-week-long siege on Jenin refugee camp, where they cut electricity from families, where they denied them access to medical care, and even targeted medics in a similar fashion to Israel. So what we’re really seeing is a proxy army for Israel and the Israeli army really targeting Palestinians in the West Bank right now, who have no one protecting them, essentially, other than the small groups of resistance fighters who are realistically no match to the power and technology that Israel has and the coordination with the Palestinian Authority.

AMY GOODMAN: Mariam Barghouti, do you think Israel is using the siege on Jenin to indirectly break the ceasefire deal in Gaza?

MARIAM BARGHOUTI: No. What we also need to remember is that even before October 7th, Israeli officials and politicians, as well as military commanders, were calling for a large-scale invasion of the West Bank. This has been a procedure that has been placed in effect long before October 7th. It has also — we do know that this operation was planned in tandem with the ceasefire negotiations, so we know it is preplanned. But it’s also important to recognize that the ultimate goal of Israeli colonial practice is to push Palestinians out. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be an obstruction to the ceasefire, but it does act and align with Israel’s overall goal.

AMY GOODMAN: Mariam Barghouti, we want to thank you for being with us, Palestinian writer and journalist based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. We’ll link to your new article at Drop Site News, “Israel Invades Jenin Days After Signing Gaza 'Ceasefire.'”

That does it for our show. Democracy Now! is produced with Mike Burke, Renée Feltz, Deena Guzder, Messiah Rhodes, María Taracena, Tami Woronoff, Charina Nadura, Sam Alcoff, Tey-Marie Astudillo, John Hamilton, Robby Karran, Hany Massoud, Hana Elias. Our executive director is Julie Crosby. Special thanks to Becca Staley, Jon Randolph, Paul Powell, Mike Di Filippo, Miguel Nogueira, Hugh Gran, Denis Moynihan, David Prude, Dennis McCormick, Matt Ealy, Anna Özbek, Emily Andersen, Dante Torrieri and Buffy Saint Marie Hernandez. To sign up for our daily digest, go to democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.