Israeli media outlets reported on 24 May that, for the first time, a rocket was launched from the occupied West Bank toward an Israeli settlement.

“A short while ago, IDF troops operated in the town of Nazlet Zeid (near Jenin) and located a dummy rocket launcher. The launcher was transferred to security forces for further processing,” the Israeli military said in a statement via Twitter.

A short while ago, IDF troops operated in the town of Nazlet and located a dummy rocket launcher.

The launcher was transferred to security forces for further processing.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 24, 2023

A video circulating social media shows the rocket being launched, with a piece of paper attached to the launchpad that reads: “The Ayyash Brigade, the launching of a Qassam 1 rocket towards [the illegal settlement of] Shaked. May 24. The next one will be greater.”

היום בצפון השומרון: פלסטינים ניסו לשגר רקטה מאולתרת לעבר היישוב שקד.
רבש"צ היישוב לתושבים: "צה"ל שולט בשטחי הכפרים סביבנו ומונע את האפשרות שיווצר מצב דומה לזה שבעוטף עזה" pic.twitter.com/0pwgrIvE14

— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) May 24, 2023

The rocket reportedly exploded in midair shortly after its launch.

The Ayyash Brigade is a resistance faction based in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, said to be affiliated with the Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement and its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.

However, no resistance groups have claimed responsibility for the rocket launch. While some outlets claimed that the video was released by the Ayyash Brigade itself, the Stay Aware telegram group cited a statement by the resistance in Jenin as confirming that the group “does not have any electronic platform, and is not well known on the ground in Jenin.”

According to Stay Aware, the resistance in Jenin has questioned the video and considered it a possible “pretext for upcoming [Israeli] aggression.”

Rockets have never been fired out of the occupied West Bank toward Israel before.

In another statement by the Jenin resistance, cited by the Jenin al-Qassam telegram group, a picture of a damaged, cone-shaped object is shown with a caption that reads: “This is the paper rocket that went viral in the video, which is made from cardboard, a little bit of glue, and a firecracker.”

“We have no rockets in Jenin. Only rifles and improvised explosives,” the statement added.

According to an anonymous Israeli security source, what was fired was a “rocket-like iron tube with a cardboard head,” which contained “an explosive that could not reach more than a few meters.”

The strange incident comes as Israel has been weighing the option of launching a full-scale operation across the occupied West Bank, where a number of recently formed resistance factions, such as the Jenin and Nablus Brigades and the Lions’ Den, have expanded in an unprecedented manner and have stepped up attacks against soldiers, settlements, and army checkpoints.

According to Israeli media, the security establishment is undecided over such an operation, with some claiming that its cost would be too high.

The statements released by the resistance in Jenin suggest a belief that the launching of this makeshift rocket could be a false-flag operation designed to create a pretext for a large-scale Israeli attack on the West Bank.

Israel’s raid policy in the West Bank is already brutal. Last night and into this morning, Israeli troops launched a six-hour raid in Jericho, injuring at least 13, detaining 40, and storming over 60 civilian homes.