Jenin on the West Bank – A large crowd gathered, two giant armored bulldozers roared through the Jenin refugee camp, tearing up the asphalt and clearing the paths of three Israeli tanks.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a tank with my own eyes,” the young man said. His voice is a mixture of adoration and distrust, as the sun sets at one of the entrances to camp on Sunday.
Two giant bulldozers roared forward before him, destroying more of the road beneath them. Almost empty after weeks of merciless attacks, the refugee camps were becoming brave for yet another military invasion.
Born in Jenin in 2003, Ahmed was born at the height of the second Intifada, but had previously witnessed military invasions. However, Israeli tanks have not been seen on the streets of Jenin since 2002 when its uprising began.
Ahmed stood among a group of young men and boys on Highfa Street near one of the entrance to the camp.
“It’s not easy for them to stay,” he muttered.
For over an hour, journalists, locals and nearby Israeli jeeps were observed in silence as bulldozers dismantled the roundabout on Haifa Street. Then, as the last shard was pushed aside, the engines of the Merkaba tanks roared and armored vehicles began to advance into the city.
The young man standing nearby shook his head when asked if he expected immediate resistance. “I don’t think so. There’s no one left in the camp, and there are no fighters.”
Tanks and stones
Nevertheless, a familiar scene unfolded as the tank advanced towards the refugee camp.
A group of Palestinian youth and children, armed with stones alone, threw them at them with approaching tanks. In response, one operator of the tank aimed directly for the cannon and turret to a crowd of journalists and spectators. After a while the air was filled with tear gas, dispersing the gathered young men and children.
Israel has been raiding almost a day on the occupied West Bank since 2022. The aim is to weaken the armed Palestinian resistance groups operating there. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has used helicopters, drones and now tanks to increase the fatal forces it uses in the West Bank.
This latest intensification of violence at Jenin began on January 21, but Israeli forces are also attacking elsewhere, including Kabatya and Talcarem. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the military “to prepare for long stays in sunny camps for the next few years, and to prevent residents from re-growing terrorism.” I stated.
Among those watching the tank disappear into the camp was a young man who had been evacuated a few weeks ago. He stood silently, his face tensed with uncertainty. “Another thing, I don’t know what will happen,” he said. “I have a home to stay at for now, but many people don’t have a place to sleep tonight.”
Save your belongings
According to the United Nations Relief and Labor Bureau for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), more than 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly expelled from their homes on the West Bank, and Israeli forces have refused to return. Masu.
Jenin’s blockade to the camp continued for weeks, during which Palestinian authority forces were first surrounded, and then Israeli forces imposed serious restrictions on movement, cutting off water and power to the camp.
Many families were suddenly forced to escape, leaving behind belongings, including a group of women navigating Jenin’s destroyed, muddy streets.
Gathered at one of the entrances to the camp, they planned to return to their home and grab some of the things they had to leave.
His face was tired, his shoes were covered in mud, surrounded by bags he used to collect his belongings, waiting to pass.
But they failed. Israeli soldiers who forced them to flee the house prevented them from passing through checkpoints they had set up using tile bles made by destroying the camp streets.
“Yesterday, the officer told us we could come back today, but now he’s refusing to let us in,” one of the women said obvious frustration in her voice. Ta.
The woman didn’t want to give up and start walking on another access road that had been dreced to the tiles and rubbed filling the narrow, muddy streets. However, they tried again and were warned with the ominous words, “Sniper!”
Just the clothes on her back
“We’ll be back one day,” Harima Zawahidi said her smile contrasted with the slow shuffling trajectory caused by tired eyes and lung cancer.
Halima was born in the Jenin refugee camp and lived there for his life, but was kicked out of his home by Israeli soldiers on January 22nd.
The 63-year-old can vividly remember the jet flying over his head as the sound of the shooting fills the air and bullets fly over his head.
Israeli forces killed 10 people that day and set the tone for the coming weeks.
Now, her brothers, sisters and nephews (8 in total) are all packed into one room in an educational center for the deaf, and are at the shelter of around 16 families who were forced to banish from the shelter. It’s become.
Other families are forced to scatter Jenin City and stay in their families and other spaces.
But Halima said it was the biggest and most vicious Israeli attack he has experienced in a camp that has seen plenty of Israeli attacks over the past decades.
She added, as the Israelites want to expel all those who live in the camp, as evident from all destruction.
Harima expects her home to be still partially standing. The windows and doors were blown away, and some walls were severely damaged and fell.
In addition to the usual Israeli attacks that residents of the refugee camp have suffered for years, Halima said, “We were under siege for 45 days.”
“There was no electricity, no water, no roads, no shooting. We lived in the darkness of the camp,” she added, about the raids by Palestinian authorities who surrounded the Palestinians at the camp before the Israeli invasion. I mentioned it.
Harima doesn’t know when he’ll return home, just as no one else has evacuated in Jenin.
Israel continues to violate what would previously be considered a red line, but few US administrations believe they are actively supporting the Guardrail or its actions, but soon the outcome is There are almost none.
Many observers believe that Israel’s ultimate purpose is to depopulate the Palestinian Jordanian riverbank, but in Gaza, where Israel unleashed the full power of its military for 15 months, a similar purpose was I’ve failed so far.
But even without a strategy, Israel’s military power directed at the people of Jenin did not overturn the lives of thousands.
“What are they going to do?” asked Jameela, one resident. “Would you destroy all the camps? Do they want to drill holes in the land and put us there?”
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