RAMALLAH: Thousands of people were forcibly evacuated from Jenin refugee camp as one of Israel’s biggest West Bank military operations in years continued for a second day on Tuesday.
The operation was launched with a drone strike and the deployment of more than 1,000 troops in the early hours of Monday. At least 11 people have been killed.
On Tuesday evening, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that a young Palestinian from Jenin had been killed by troops.
The densely populated refugee camp, home to almost 14,000 people living in less than half a square kilometer, has been one of the focal points of a wave of violence that has swept the West Bank for more than a year, resulting in growing international alarm.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem declared a general strike to condemn Israel’s aggression and to mourn the dead.
Almost 100 Palestinians have been injured, with 20 said to be in a critical condition.
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Universities, banks, factories, labs and shops remained closed amid calls for a day of general mobilization and anger.
Palestinians shocked by videos of hundreds of refugee families forced to evacuate the camp and head to an unknown destination late on Monday say they are reminded of the Palestinian Nakba and the camp’s destruction in 2002.
The Abu Sariya family is one of many who had to flee after the Israeli army repeatedly threatened to bomb houses.
On the outskirts of the camp, 18-month-old Habiba was being carried by her mother, who was walking with her son Ali and an elderly relative when heavy gunfire from the army was heard. In the resulting melee, the family were separated.
The child’s aunt, who asked not to be named, said: “While the family was walking, bullets began flying in the vicinity, which caused them to panic. From the family, a boy and a girl got separated from their mother and grandmother.
“One passerby took the two children to a relative’s house in the eastern neighborhood without the family’s knowledge. A search for them began, with appeals made on social media. The family was reunited after two and a half hours.”
A member of the Abu Jawhar family said their house in the western neighborhood where 50 members lived was seized when the army operation began.
“The Israeli army detained the family members in one of the rooms, confiscated mobile phones, and left us without food and water throughout this period, despite the fact two among them were handicapped. We were released only after two of the family members were arrested,” he said.
“What is happening reminds us of the Israeli invasion in 2002, when we were exposed to the same situation, and we took refuge in our relatives’ homes.”
Late on Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said it had evacuated 500 families, or about 3,000 people, from the camp, while UN agencies expressed alarm at the scale of the air and ground operation.
Trucks brought food, water and other supplies collected by volunteers in the nearby city of Nablus to Jenin, where they were distributed at hospitals and social centers to those displaced by the fighting.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club expressed concern about the fate of detainees in the Jenin camp, especially those wounded, saying there has been a lack of information due to the chaos.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs voiced alarm at the scale of the Israeli ground operations and airstrikes targeting the crowded refugee camp, which caused damage to civilian buildings and surrounding neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, infrastructure damage has left most of the camp without drinking water or electricity.
The Palestinian Ministry of Economy said the Jenin governorate’s economy will lose more than $8 million a week if the Israeli aggression continues.
Workers were unable to reach their workplaces due to the Israeli siege and checkpoints, it said.
The ministry urged the international community to assume its responsibility for the crimes “Israel is committing against our people, and to stop the aggression that targets citizens and the infrastructure of the national economy.”
Ammar Abu Bakr, head of the Jenin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the city is facing significant food shortages.
The Israeli army has stopped pharmacies and bakeries from operating and prevented stores from providing citizens with basic items, he said.
Jenin Gov. Maj. Gen. Akram Rajoub told Arab News that the Israeli army is waging an all-out war against the camp.
“The extent of destruction confirms that this is retaliatory behavior and not a pursuit of a wanted person here or there. What is the relationship between the infrastructure damage during the first two hours of the raid and the military targets of the operation they are talking about?”
He said that events in the camp “constitute a human crime and aim to please the Israeli extreme right.”
Political analyst Areej Hakroush from Kufur Kanna in the Galilee told Arab News that the Israeli operation was timed to achieve the political goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several of his far-right ministers.
Hakroush said that Israeli public opinion is divided over the operation, with some fearing its consequences and Palestinian reactions.
The fighting underlined the lack of any sign of a political solution to the decades-long conflict and international reaction to the operation was mixed.
The US said it respected Israel’s right to defend itself, but added that it was imperative to avoid civilian casualties.
Mohammed Moustafa Orfy, Egypt’s permanent representative to the Arab League, said the operation will hinder reconciliation attempts after months of escalating violence.
“What is happening in Jenin, the brutal killing using the Israeli war machine, is aimed at shrinking to a very large extent the chances of reviving the peace process, he said.
