On the 3rd and 4th of July 2023, Israeli forces launched one of its biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank in decades. During two consecutive days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided the Jenin refugee camp striking “terrorist infrastructure” in an “extensive counterterrorism effort in the area of the city Jenin and the Jenin Camp,” according to an official statement.
The IDF carried out around 10 airstrikes using drones, and hundreds of soldiers targeted what it said was a militant “command and control” center as well as weapons and explosive manufacturing sites. During the attack at least 12 Palestinians were killed, and widespread destruction was left across the city’s refugee camp. Among the dead and injured were civilian non-combatants and children.
Multiple reports mention how ambulances have been prevented access to Jenin Refugee Camp to evacuate the wounded, hampering their access to medical assistance.
Various videos from Jenin showed bulldozers destroying streets to disarm potential explosives, as well as Israeli tanks on the outskirts of Jenin city. Infrastructure like electricity, telecommunications and water have been cut off as well.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, thousands fled their homes in the refugee camp in the night between the 3rd and the 4th of July.
Daniel Hagari, spokesperson of the IDF, acknowledged that civilians were among the injured, but insisted the operation only meant to target “terrorists.”
“It’s not an invasion on Jenin, it’s not against the Palestinian Authority. It’s not against innocent, innocent Palestinians. It’s against terrorists in this camp.”
The incident sparked immediate condemnation. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority called the military operation “a new war crime”. Egypt called it an act of “aggression”.
Although this raid has been one of its biggest since a long time, incursions into the city’s refugee camp have increased, particularly over the past few weeks. Tensions across the West Bank have been high since over a year, due to a wave of attacks between both conflict parties.
The focus of these raids has been on the cities of Jenin and Nablus as they are considered “militant hotspots” according to the IDF. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly referred to the refugee camp as a “terrorist nest” because of the presence of Palestinian armed fighters.
Last year has been the deadliest year since record for both Palestinians and Israelis across the West Bank and Israel, suggesting an escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian-Conflict.
According to an official United Nations (UN) press release on the 5th of July, the Israeli air strikes and ground operations in the occupied West Bank targeting the Jenin Refugee camp and the killing of at least 12 Palestinians “may prima facie” constitute a war crime. According to experts, the operation has no justification under international law.
“The attacks constitute collective punishment of the Palestinian population, who have been labelled a collective security threat in the eyes of Israeli authorities. […] The Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory are protected persons under international law, guaranteed of all human rights including the presumption of innocence. They cannot be treated as a collective security threat by the occupying Power, all the more while it advances the annexation of occupied Palestinian land, and displacement and dispossession of its Palestinian residents.”
ACHRS joins the UN’s position and strongly condemns the proportion and excessive force used by Israeli forces against the inhabitants of the Jenin refugee camp. “Escalation is not the answer. It simply bolsters radicalization and leads to a deepening cycle of violence and bloodshed”, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. The cycle of violence has to end. We call for a political solution to the conflict as soon as possible.
