Jenin camp residents inspect the destruction two days after they were displaced from it
Siham Al-Na’ja returned to her home in the Jenin refugee camp, only to discover the damage caused to it after Israel announced the end of its massive military operation in the northern occupied West Bank and the withdrawal of its forces.
Jenin and its neighboring refugee camp are a regular scene of confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, but the latest Israeli operation was the most violent in years.
“There is no electricity, no water, nothing… the food was spoiled in the refrigerator,” says Siham, 53, as she inspects the rooms of her house, whose windows were smashed, furniture scattered, and pictures removed from its walls.
Looking among the belongings of her house lying on the ground, she points out that she was one of the thousands of Jenin camp residents who were displaced from their homes two days ago during the clashes.
In the kitchen of the house the floor was covered with sugar and in another room a broken plastic toy was thrown on the floor.
Siham accused the Israeli forces of stealing money and gold from her apartment.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment on the allegations.
In a previous statement, the Israeli army said that its forces had “confiscated” a large amount of “terror money”.
About 18,000 Palestinian refugees live in the camp, who are among the descendants of 760,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 war that erupted following the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel.
Israel confirmed that its military operation in Jenin targeted Palestinian activists, their weapons stores and infrastructure.
Palestinians believe in their right to defend themselves as they live under occupation.
A wounded Palestinian woman in Jenin Hospital (EPA)
The death toll from attacks, confrontations and military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel since the beginning of January has risen to no less than 187 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian.
These figures include combatants and civilians, including minors, from the Palestinian side. On the Israeli side, most of the dead were civilians.
Palestinian mourners take part in a funeral procession for people shot dead by Israeli forces in Jenin (DPA)
About 2.9 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, in addition to half a million Jews in illegal settlements under international law.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967.
Heaps of rubble
Israel began its military operation at dawn on Monday, in which hundreds of soldiers participated and included air strikes and armored bulldozers.
An elderly woman cries among the wreckage of her house in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
Mahdi Jalaisa, 18, points with his hand at a bag of food with Hebrew stickers on it and says it was abandoned by Israeli soldiers.
He added, “The army entered the camp, and the first thing it did was (launch) air strikes.”
He continued, holding a cigarette: “They entered the house. They detained us on the ground floor, without food or water.”
He notes that they asked the soldiers to provide them with water, but they refused.
In the camp’s streets strewn with bullet casings, residents survey the massive devastation of the attack that left 12 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier dead, and wander among piles of rubble and cut electricity wires.
Among the many wrecked vehicles, one of them tried to remove some belongings from the trunk of his brother’s vehicle.
A burning car in a yard after an Israeli army raid on the city of Jenin in the West Bank (EPA)
On another street nearby, a woman is clearing rubble and says: An Israeli air strike targeted a site next to her house, and the walls of the opposite building appeared charred black.
Support campaigns
After the displacement of about three thousand camp residents from their homes, calls came to donate and support them.
Heaps of baby diapers, food and other aid filled the city’s hospital courtyards.
At one of the distribution points inside the camp, Khader Masalha is organizing the operation.
The 35-year-old says: The bloody military operation will have a long-term and lasting impact. “The destruction is comprehensive from a physical and psychological point of view, especially on children and the elderly.”
Palestinians carry a person injured by Israeli bullets in the Jenin camp on Tuesday (AP)
He adds, “For two full days… they were deprived of any smile on their faces,” referring to young children and the psychological trauma left by their suffering during the confrontations.
2023-07-04 12:27:00
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