Friday, December 9, 2022

All About the Jenin Refugee Camp and Yesterday's Newest Jenin Attack on IDF

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                   

Jenin refugee camp. © 2015 UNRWA Photo by Dominiek Benoot

IDF forces conducted a raid in the Jenin refugee camp run by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) yesterday to capture 3 wanted terrorists, when they came under fire. Troops returned fire, reportedly killing 3 attackers. No troops were hurt.  Jenin is in Samaria, the most northern camp, the closest to Lebanon.    The PA (Palestinian Authority Health Ministry) identified the three fatalities as Sidqi Zakarneh and Tariq al-Damej, both 29, and Atta Shalabi, 46.  

It was the Islamic Jihad’s local wing who claimed to attack troops who entered the  northern West Bank city to conduct arrests; no Israeli troops hurt; 15 suspects arrested in raids across West Bank.  

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is a Palestinian Islamist organization formed in 1981. PIJ formed as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and was influenced ideologically in its formation by the Islamic regime in Iran.

The Israel Defense Forces said troops came under “accurate gunfire” when they entered the city of Jenin and the adjacent Jenin refugee camp to arrest three wanted terror suspects.

Jenin camp borders the Jenin municipality and is the northernmost camp in Judea-Samaria (the West Bank). It has been the scene of significant suffering. Established in 1953 after the original camp in the area was destroyed in a snowstorm, Jenin camp was also severely affected by the second intifada. 


REFUGEE CAMPS IN THE WEST BANK

UNRWA provides services in 19 Palestine refugee camps in the West Bank. UNRWA does not administer or police the camps, as this is the responsibility of the host authorities.






                                         

                   City of Jenin in Samaria (West Bank)

Jenin (/əˈnn/Arabicجنين  Ǧinīn) is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine (?) and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of approximately 40,000 people, whilst the Jenin refugee camp had a population of 10,000. Jenin is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (as part of Area A of the West Bank).                     

In April 1–11, 2002 (Israeli troop withdrawal began April 18)2002, the Israeli military occupied the Jenin camp after ten days of intensive fighting, destroying more than 400 houses, severely damaging hundreds more, and displacing more than a quarter of the camp’s population.  This is when the Jenin camp was discovered to be the center of terrorism after Israel reported that it had "served as a launch site for numerous terrorist attacks against both Israeli civilians and Israeli towns and villages in the area."

In the 2002 battle, the terrorists involved turned out to be from Fatah, Preventative Security Force, Al Aqsa martyrs Brigades, Tanzim, Hamas Islamic Jihad  and Independent Palestinian Miujahid factions.  23 IDF had been killed and 52 were wounded.  52 terrorists were killed.  

Dozens of houses were destroyed according to the IDF.
According to HRW (Human Rights Watch) at least 140 buildings were completely destroyed, and severe damage caused 200 additional buildings to be rendered uninhabitable or unsafe.  All this after 10 days of terrorists preventing the arrest of some of their identified men who were attacking Israeli citizens, a situation that was meant to happen. Israel could not allow terrorism to get away with it and not be pursued by the law.   

UNRWA coordinated and implemented the reconstruction of the camp. An additional piece of land (the size of roughly 3 per cent of the original Jenin camp surface area) was developed adjacent to the camp, which reduced overcrowding.

Today, protection issues remain a primary concern for residents of Jenin camp. Both Israeli and Palestinian forces conduct regular operations in the camp that often result in clashes and violence. 

In 2014, four refugees were killed during these operations. The violence has also had a significant impact on the emotional and psychosocial well-being of young children especially.

      The Barrier went up to stop terrorist acts on Israelis

Jenin also experiences one of the highest rates of unemployment and poverty among the 19 West Bank refugee camps. Many residents previously relied upon work in Israel, which has been severely curtailed since the construction of the Barrier and the implementation of the permit regime. Unemployment and poverty has affected the youth especially, resulting in widespread dissatisfaction and frustration and contributing to higher school dropout rates among younger children.

This is because most of the acts of violence against Israelis come from the Jenin camp.        


The Oslo process came to an end in September 2000 when multiple extremist Palestinian groups, with the backing of Yasser Arafat and the PA, launched a terrorist war against Israel.  These groups hijacked the peace agenda from ordinary Palestinians and forced Israel to focus on self-defense.  

Terrorism against Israel went on from September 28, 2000 to December 31, 2005.  

There were 25,770 terrorist attacks.  

There were 147 suicide bombings causing 47% of all deaths.

1,084 were killed.

7,454 were injured

82% of dead and wounded were civilians (2000-2004).  

Terrorism continues to come from Jenin.  It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine (?) and is a major center for the surrounding towns.

Resource:

Israel AM

https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/west-bank/jenin-camp

https://www.timesofisrael.com/three-palestinians-killed-in-clash-between-gunmen-and-idf-in-jenin/

https://www.unrwa.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jenin_(2002)

Magazine:  Israel 101 by Stand With Us (StandWithUs), 2010 p. 24, 25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenin

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