Israeli Military Base Construction Sparks Controversy

For the first time since the signing of the Oslo peace accords in the mid-1990s, Israel is constructing a military base in a region of the West Bank that the accords placed under the Palestinian Authority’s control. The base is being built near Jenin, an area historically known for Palestinian militant activity, which the Israeli military aims to prevent from reemerging.

Critics argue that this development could also lead to further expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, particularly near densely populated Palestinian areas. Israeli settlement activities, largely deemed illegal internationally, continue to progress at record speeds.

They’re blowing up the Oslo accords, stated 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 situated on confiscated land close to the urban zone known as Jenin camp. In January 2025, the Israeli military launched an invasion of this area, which led to over 10,000 Palestinians being displaced, marking the largest such displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

This military initiative occurred after the Palestinian Authority’s attempts to manage militant factions in Jenin, some linked with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who had resisted the authority’s control and launched attacks on Israelis.