Narrow alleys and adjacent rooftops. Small residential buildings, many of which house more people than they have room for, are stacked next to each other, many of them window to window.
The Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the occupied West Bank is once again facing a devastating Israeli assault, the biggest in more than 20 years.
Israel has portrayed the camp as a den of “terrorists” that threatens its security, arguing that the use of hard force is therefore justified, a notion that the United States has also supported.
For three generations of Palestinians, the camp has been a home that has protected them since the Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, when 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed and forced from their homes to make way for the establishment of Israel in 1948.
The latest Israeli attacks now threaten to render the refugees homeless. Some 3,000 Palestinians have already been forced to flee the refugee camp since the operation began on Sunday afternoon, according to Jenin’s deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Roub.
Haifa Abu Sirriyeh, a 34-year-old mother of three who lives in the center of the camp, told Al Jazeera that she was woken early on Monday by shelling and that her little girl was shaking and crying with fear.
Israeli forces “want to commit massacres inside the camp” and “want to wipe out the camp,” he said.
History of attacks
Jenin Refugee Camp, located approximately 1 km (0.6 mi) west of the city of Jenin, was established in 1953 to accommodate Palestinians who were expelled in 1948 from more than 50 villages and cities in northern Palestine, mainly Haifa and Nazareth.
Israel seized the West Bank in 1967, including the camp, and three generations of Palestinians have endured violence during military incursions by the Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
The camp was almost destroyed in 2002 when Israeli soldiers ambushed it during the second Intifada.
At that time, at least 52 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW). Twenty-three Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Bad living conditions
The Jenin refugee camp has a population density more than 70 times that of Israel: 14,000 people crammed into an area of about 0.42 km² (0.16 sq mi).
It is one of the 19 official camps of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The UN agency has reported how children spend time in the camp between areas that are too narrow or too dangerous to play in, and how children playing outdoors are exposed to conflict-related violence, intra-community violence, drug abuse and others. risk behaviors.
In addition, the camp suffers from one of the highest rates of unemployment and poverty in the West Bank, largely due to restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by Israel. Many young people remain unemployed despite graduating from university, leading to dissatisfaction and frustration that UNRWA says is a contributing factor to increased violence and substance abuse.
The camp also suffers from sporadic water and electricity cuts, which only worsen when Israel launches new assaults.
Symbol of resistance
Since mid-2021, when Israel stepped up its military occupation and settler attacks grew, the camp has become home to hundreds of armed Palestinian fighters, who have become a symbol of resistance.
The fighters, many of whom are young Palestinians who see no choice but to resist, belong to armed groups that include the Jenin Brigade, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah.
They are equipped with firearms, have recently deployed improvised explosive devices to disable Israeli military vehicles, and are known to have set up blockades to prevent Israeli advances.
The human toll of the latest assault
During its latest incursion, Israel has used drones, rockets, a brigade of soldiers – between 1,000 and 2,000 – and many dozens of armored military vehicles. Israeli forces surrounded the camp and also used tractors to enter Jenin. They seriously damaged roads and houses.
Jenin Mayor Nidal Obeidi said Al Jazeera’s water lines, sewer system and rooftop water tanks have been attacked and that Israeli snipers have prevented the municipality from carrying out its work At least 10 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Jenin and dozens more injured, some critically.
UNRWA said its facilities, including four schools and a health centre, were not functioning due to the attack.
