Jenin West Bank: ’thousands of people fled from their refugee camp’

With the previous sentence various news portals described the situation in a refugee camp next to the Palestinian city of Jenin, located in the West Bank. The number of 'camp residents' is estimated at 14,000 souls, mainly consisting of refugees (and their descendants) who were expelled from Israel in 1948. In 1995, Jenin became the first Palestinian city to come under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority based on the Oslo Accords. Since then, the completely incapable and heavily corrupt Mahmoud Abbas formally reigns there.

Formally, yes, because he has no authority in the city, which has since been heavily infiltrated by the militant Hamas organization. Especially in the refugee camp near the city, the resistance Hamas movement (designated as a terrorist organization by the EU) has a large following, a logical consequence of the hopelessness in which these Palestinians find themselves. Unemployment is high, living conditions are appalling, and travel for the camp residents is difficult if not impossible. At every checkpoint, people from Jenin are subjected to additional checks, and they are often detained for hours without any reason given. In the worst case, they are then sent back...

In 2002, the Israeli army invaded the camp, and a large part of the area was burnt down to the ground. Dozens of Palestinians lost their lives, and Israeli soldiers also suffered fatal casualties. During the military operations, the camp was completely sealed off from the outside world, even ambulances from the Red Crescent were not allowed in. Later, this also applied to a fact-finding mission of the United Nations that was supposed to be sent to Jenin based on a UN resolution. However, the Israeli authorities resolutely blocked the mission and did not tolerate any snoopers.

Of course, the Israelis had a valid reason to search for (suicide) terrorists in the camp, as many of these individuals originated from or were associated with these camps. Prior to the 2002 invasion, a Palestinian terrorist had detonated himself in a hotel in the Israeli city of Netanya, resulting in the deaths of 18 people and 140 injuries. Among the victims were also Holocaust survivors...

Well, based on this, one can understand the use of force by the state of Israel against terrorist hotbeds. However, where does the seed of these appalling eruptions of violence lie? When people are displaced from their homes and forced to live together in a refugee camp with no positive prospects, it is only a matter of time before the first suicide attack occurs. I fear that soon we will witness another wave of suicide bombings, not only within Israel itself but also against Israeli targets abroad. Why? This past Sunday night, the Jenin camp was subjected to a heavy carpet bombing, followed by the entry of around one to two thousand soldiers into the camp. The 14,000 residents stood no chance against the overwhelming force of the invading soldiers, especially considering that the people of Jenin are confined to a tiny area of 500 square meters...

According to the ’Palestinian Authority’ - a term that has now taken on a tragically comical connotation - there have been 9 deaths and at least 100 injuries so far. An ambulance paramedic who was allowed to enter the scene described it as a ’real war’ in such a minuscule area. Naturally, the Israeli government, under the leadership of (still...) Benjamin Netanyahu, justified the actions by citing the terrorist activities allegedly taking place in the camp. A spokesperson for the military claimed that the camp is ’effectively a terrorist stronghold.’

 Not only the current far-right government supports a tougher approach towards the Palestinians, even the more moderate former Prime Minister Yair Lapid holds this view. No, we can safely forget any hope that the situation on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip will become less violent. Israel has been doing the same thing for years, disregarding the Oslo Accords of 1995. There is no sign of any self-determination for the Palestinians, and on a daily basis, the settlers expand into areas that belong to the Palestinian Authority's territory. Palestinian homes are regularly bulldozed, followed by the arrival of new Jewish settlers.

At this point, the Palestinians are completely on their own. ’Arab brother states’ nowadays pay only lip service to the ’Palestinian cause’ while the Palestinians themselves remain divided between the Hamas and Abbas camps. The ’two-state solution’ is a distant prospect, and even that would be too optimistic. It seems more likely that Israel will eventually annex the entire West Bank, leaving the Palestinians with only the Gaza Strip. But for how long?

Lastly, let's briefly touch upon the title of this article. Refugees fleeing a refugee camp? Can it get any worse and more tragic than that?