Israel ends latest West Bank campaign

Israel announced on Wednesday that it had withdrawn from the West Bank and ended a two-day military operation that killed 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier. Israeli officials said the operation was a counterterrorism effort to root out terrorism centers in the city of Jenin. A day earlier, an attacker drove a truck into pedestrians in Tel Aviv, then got out and started stabbing people with a sharp object. Eight people were injured before an armed civilian killed the attacker. Israeli police identified the assailant as a Palestinian man.

What motivated the Tel Aviv attack? The terror group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was a response to Israel’s military operation. On Wednesday, Israel said it intercepted rockets fired by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

Dig deeper: Read Robert Nicholson’s column in WORLD Opinions about how Palestinians hold the key to peace in the Middle East.