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Gunmen in Jenin, a West Bank city that has become a stronghold of a new generation of Palestinian militants
Item Information
- Author: Alaa Daraghme
- Rolle, BBC Arabic
2 hours ago
BBC reporter Alaa Daraghme, who has been following the situation in Jenin refugee camp for at least two years, reports below what is happening there after Israel launched a largescale military operation against Palestinian militants in the camp. Refugees from Jenin.
When we arrived in Jenin two years ago, dozens of armed men could be seen gathered in groups. Now there are hundreds.
Resistance to the Israeli military operation in the West Bank, where the city of Jenin is located, grew rapidly.
We saw smoke rising from the rooftops the result of the area’s heaviest bombardment in years. It’s a vicious cycle of violence.
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BBC reporter Alaa Daraghme has been following the situation in Jenin refugee camp for at least two years
More and more Palestinians believe that their only way out is through struggle. They think that if they don’t fight, they won’t have anything in the future.
At the moment they have no running water or sewage and they fear the situation will only get worse.
Memories of the Battle of Jenin
We met one of the residents of Jenin refugee camp, Ahmad Jaradat.
According to him, residents have not witnessed an action of this magnitude since 2002, when Israel launched a major operation that became known as the Battle of Jenin.
My colleague, correspondent Eman Eriqat, says she can hear drones flying over the city. She says the airstrikes and gunfire remind Palestinians of the “bad days” they experienced in the 2002 battle during the Second Intifada.
More than 50 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in more than a week of fighting this year. Then there was a series of Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel.
For the current mayor of Jenin, Nidal Al Ebaidi, in the new offensive the Israeli army intends to destroy the refugee camp.
Danny Danon, MP for Israel’s Likud party, denies there were any civilian targets. “We’ve been in action in Jenin for a few hours and you’ve seen that we even sent out text messages warning residents not to leave their homes. We only target the militants,” he told the BBC.
Palestinian medical teams are demanding an end to the violence so they can take the wounded from the refugee camp to hospitals.
young Palestinians
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Smoke over Jenin, the result of the region’s heaviest bombardment in years
The Palestinians insist that Israel stop building settlements in the West Bank.
As construction and military operations continue, many young Palestinians are becoming even more impatient than their parents.
Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the National Initiative Party, told BBC Newsday that Palestinians are increasingly desperate about the political situation.
“The big question is why are these young people going in this direction [de revolta]?”, he asks. “Is it because we are under military occupation? [israelense] It’s been 56 years and the world has done nothing to end this occupation… Young people are running out of hope because the world community has allowed Israel to continue this occupation. “
The Israeli mobilization
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Israeli military vehicles drive through Jenin
Israeli forces attack the Jenin refugee camp from the air and from the ground.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the camp has 14,000 people living in an area of just 0.42 km².
Israel says it is targeting Palestinian militants who have launched attacks on its citizens.
Israeli forces said in a statement they had attacked a “joint operations center” bringing together various Palestinian armed groups the Jenin Brigade.
According to the Israeli military, the site was an observation, communication and storage point for weapons and explosives used by Palestinian fighters.
Last year Jenin was the target of several Israeli attacks. Meanwhile, Israeli security forces accused several Palestinians of shooting attacks on Israelis.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Maj Nir Dina told reporters Jenin was a hideout for terrorists.
“A few weeks ago there was an attempt to launch a rocket from Jenin to Israel. The attempt failed and ended up in the West Bank,” he said. “We are very concerned [que] it is repeating.”
The Palestinian mobilization
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Fighters from various Palestinian groups are part of the loosely affiliated Jenin Brigades
In Jenin, several groups declared their determination to resist Israeli forces.
Atta Abu Rmeileh, secretary of the Fatah political movement in Jenin, told the BBC that all the armed groups present in the refugee camp stood ready to protect the area from Israeli forces.
He said the fighters would not raise the white flag of surrender and would continue fighting.
Fighters from many different groups gathered in the city and called themselves the Jenin Brigades. What unites them is their determination to resist the occupation and their lack of confidence in the Palestinian Authority’s ability to do so on their behalf.
A fighter from the Jenin Brigades sent a voice recording to a Telegram group saying that the fighters’ confidence was very high and that they would continue fighting until they died.