Israel Constructs Military Base Amid West Bank Tensions

For the first time since the mid-1990s, Israel is constructing a military base in a part of the West Bank that the Oslo peace accords had placed under the Palestinian Authority’s control.

This development comes as the Israeli military aims to prevent the city of Jenin from becoming a hub of Palestinian militant activity once more.

Critics argue that the military base could facilitate the expansion of Israeli settlements in the region, which could significantly impact Palestinian population centers nearby. Israeli settlements have been expanding at a rapid pace, despite much of the world considering them illegal.

“They’re blowing up the Oslo accords,” said Kamal Abu al-Rub, the Palestinian Authority governor of Jenin. “They’re acting as if there are no agreements between us.”

The new base is being constructed on confiscated land just outside the densely populated Jenin camp. An Israeli military operation took place there in January 2025, leading to the displacement of over 10,000 Palestinians, marking the largest such displacement since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The operation followed the Palestinian Authority’s unsuccessful attempts to subdue militant groups in Jenin. Some of these groups were linked to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and posed ongoing challenges to both Israeli and Palestinian authority efforts.