Israel plans first permanent West Bank post in Jenin since Oslo

A planned permanent Israeli military post near Jenin refugee camp would mark a sharp break from the temporary raids that have defined the northern West Bank for more than a year. Placed inside Area A, the zone that Oslo set under full Palestinian civil and security control, the post would be the first permanent Israeli Defense Forces position built there since the 1993 accords and a visible sign that the old constraints are being overtaken by a more durable military footprint.

Jenin is one of the West Bank’s largest Palestinian cities, with at least 49,000 residents, and the nearby refugee camp is tightly packed, with estimates ranging from about 11,000 to 22,000 people. Israeli officials have said the project is meant to replace troops stationed inside residents’ homes and that it has already received the necessary approvals. Critics say the move would do more than relocate soldiers. It would help protect expanded settlement activity near Palestinian population centers and further normalize a military presence inside a territory that was supposed to be governed by the Palestinian Authority.

The plan lands after more than a year of intensifying Israeli military operations in Jenin and across the northern West Bank. UN humanitarian reporting says more than 33,000 people have been displaced from three refugee camps in the north since January 2025, while other reporting has put the number driven from Jenin camp alone at roughly 17,000 to nearly 22,000. UNRWA said in February 2025 that large swathes of Jenin camp were destroyed in controlled detonations and that the camp had effectively been turned into a ghost town.

The broader civilian toll is visible in the region’s restrictions on movement. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the West Bank had 925 movement obstacles, the highest number recorded in 20 years and 43 percent above the two-decade average. For Palestinians trying to reach work, school, clinics and markets, the combination of roadblocks, checkpoints and military closures has turned daily travel into a prolonged ordeal and deepened the isolation of already fragile communities.

The diplomatic warning lights have been flashing for months. In February 2026, the UN Secretary-General said he was gravely concerned by Israeli measures in Areas A and B. On May 22, 2026, the leaders of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom said the situation in the West Bank had deteriorated significantly and that settler violence was at unprecedented levels. A permanent base in Jenin would be read by critics as another step away from the Oslo map and toward a more entrenched Israeli hold on the West Bank.