Hebron – From his quiet village, al-Samu', in the far south of the West Bank, Abdel Wahab Khalayleh, 23, left for Tel Aviv, the largest city in Israel, to carry out a vehicular and stabbing attack that injured 7 Israelis, including 3 seriously.
The Khalayla operation came on the second day of the Israeli attack on the Jenin camp, which resulted until Tuesday afternoon in 10 martyrs and 120 wounded, including 20 in a serious situation.
The author of the first response to the invasion of #جنين. Abd al-Wahab Khalayleh from Hebron, the perpetrator of the vehicular attack in Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/LderAwDB3v
— Shehab News Agency (@ShehabAgency) July 4, 2023
Who is Khalila?
The village of Samu', south of Hebron with a population of about 30,<>, usually sees no clashes with the Israeli army or settlers, and most of its residents work either in government jobs, inside Israel, or in agriculture.
In the midst of this calm, Abdel Wahab Khalayleh went out to increase the fire in the field and carry out an operation blessed by Palestinian factions, foremost of which is the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas".
A heroic vehicular and stabbing operation in the heart of Tel Aviv (Tel Al-Rabie, one of the cities of #فلسطين_المحتلة) in initial revenge for the crime of the Zionists in #جنين. #مخيم_جنين #جنين_البطولة #فلسطين_قضية_الشرفاء pic.twitter.com/XgqYAMkuk9
— Jaber Al-Harami (@jaberalharmi) July 4, 2023
Abdul Wahab, one of seven siblings (7 males and 4 females), finished high school with distinction in the scientific discipline (3%), but did not complete university due to economic pressures and his family's need to improve their conditions.
Like his brothers, Abdel Wahab did not experience being detained by the occupation, and worked in self-employment in his hometown at first, and then turned to work in the construction sector in Israel.
Hours after carrying out the operation, the Israeli army raided and searched the home of Khalayleh's family, while deploying on the rooftops of nearby houses, while Israeli intelligence conducted a field investigation of his family members.
#شاهد| The first moments of the vehicular and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv today, in revenge for the Jenin camp, which caused 10 injuries, including 3 in critical condition.
The perpetrator of the attack was 'Abd al-Wahab Khalayleh, 20, from al-Samu' village, Hebron district, who wore military pants and drove his vehicle at full speed towards the settlers, then got out and stabbed them... pic.twitter.com/503KISnEMP
— Jerusalem Compass (@alqudsalbwsalah) July 4, 2023
Has the response started?
The Khalila operation is not the first time that followed an Israeli invasion or assassination, but it was repeated several times in the past year, the latest of which was the killing of 4 settlers and the injury of 4 others in a shooting attack in the settlement of "Eli" south of Nablus last June, hours after the invasion of the Jenin refugee camp, killing 5 Palestinians and wounding more than 100.
According to analysts speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the Khalayla process comes in revenge for the invasion of Jenin, as every Israeli act has become often offset by a Palestinian response, which nominates the situation in the West Bank to further escalation and may not be in the calculations of any party.
Dr. Noman Amr, a professor of political science at Al-Quds Open University, said that the Israeli government continues to kill, destroy and displace the Palestinian people, "and therefore the Palestinian people have no choice but to line up behind a national program of resistance to this government."
According to the Palestinian academic, only the Israeli government's cessation of its crimes will spare the region the next explosion, "as the occupation actions will have repercussions on a wider level, and the region is on the verge of slipping into unprecedented events."
As for the factions' role in the responses after years of predominantly individual operations, Amr said that with their current structure and bodies, they "gave what they had, and if they had the will or something different, they would have lined up behind a national resistance program that puts an end to colonial arrogance in killing our people."
Eyewitnesses said the attacker was driving a car at high speed and crashed hard into a bus stop, after which he got out and stabbed two Israelis (Getty Images)
Individual and organized work
For his part, political researcher Dr. Ashraf Badr says to Al Jazeera Net, that by analogy with previous events and what happened two weeks ago in Jenin and south of Nablus, it can be understood that the Tel Aviv operation came in response to the storming of Jenin camp and revenge for its martyrs, but he added "it is early to judge the course of events or consider the beginning of other revenge operations."
"It is not the first time that the Israeli occupation has carried out invasions and assassinations followed by Palestinian operations, as every action has a reaction, and the ongoing destruction by the occupation will drag reactions that escalate the situation," he said.
The Palestinian analyst said that the Palestinian responses will likely be limited to the West Bank and inside Israel if the Israeli operation in Jenin continues, ruling out the entry of the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon fronts into the confrontation "in order not to enter into battles with the occupation, which determines the time, or initiated in imposing them."
As for the form of escalation and the expected responses, the Palestinian analyst does not rule out the continuation of the individual operations approach that has characterized most operations since 2015.
However, he said, Palestinian factions in general operate secretly and often do not show their preparations, "and we may be surprised, as the Israeli security circles do, by unexpected reactions and actions compared to what happened previously."