As IDF prepares to build post in Jenin, 2 soldiers hurt, 1 seriously, in blast

As the IDF seeks to erect, for the first time, a permanent post in an area meant to be fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority, two soldiers involved in that effort were wounded by an explosive device on Thursday.

The post is set to be built in the northern West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp. During a scan of the area, troops spotted a suspicious object that then exploded, seriously wounding an officer and lightly wounding a noncommissioned officer, according to the IDF, which was still probing what set off the blast.

The two wounded troops were taken to a hospital, and their families were notified, the army said.

The military has sealed off the Jenin refugee camp since a counter-terrorism operation began in early 2025 that displaced tens of thousands of people in Jenin and other refugee camps in the northern West Bank.

The post in Jenin would mark the first time the IDF has set up a permanent presence in the part of the  West Bank designated as Area A. Under the 1990s-era Oslo Accords, Area A, which includes major Palestinian population centers, was placed under the civil and security control of the PA, a governing body established by that agreement.

The Haaretz newspaper first reported Thursday on the military’s plan to establish a permanent post in Jenin. The report cited IDF Supreme Court filings that responded to a petition by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel against the mass displacement in the area.

According to the report, the IDF told the court that the new post is “intended to replace the presence of forces in residents’ homes, and regulate the deployment of forces in the area from a long-term perspective, as part of implementing the operational conditions for a safe exit from the camp.”

United Nations data cited in court filings in the petition said 33,000 Palestinians remain displaced since the 2025 operation, according to Haaretz.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.