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| Thousands of Palestinians flee Jenin refugee camp after major Israeli raid | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Arrangements are being made to house refugees from the camp in other locations, as Arab countries condemn military operation | Arrangements are being made to house refugees from the camp in other locations, as Arab countries condemn military operation |
| Several thousand Palestinians have fled their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank after the launch of the biggest Israeli military operation in the area in two decades, according to Palestinian officials. | Several thousand Palestinians have fled their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank after the launch of the biggest Israeli military operation in the area in two decades, according to Palestinian officials. |
| “There are about 3,000 people who have left the camp so far,” the Jenin deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Roub, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday, adding that arrangements were being made to house them in schools and other shelters in Jenin city. | “There are about 3,000 people who have left the camp so far,” the Jenin deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Roub, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday, adding that arrangements were being made to house them in schools and other shelters in Jenin city. |
| The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service gave the same figure and said it expected the exodus to continue, amid suggestions from Israel that Operation Home and Garden could last several more days after beginning in the early hours of Monday morning. | The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service gave the same figure and said it expected the exodus to continue, amid suggestions from Israel that Operation Home and Garden could last several more days after beginning in the early hours of Monday morning. |
| UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said many camp residents were in need of food, drinking water and milk powder as the fighting raged for a second day. | UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said many camp residents were in need of food, drinking water and milk powder as the fighting raged for a second day. |
| According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 10 people have been killed and 100 injured, 20 of them critically, since Israel launched a series of drone strikes and sent between 1,000 and 2,000 ground troops – backed by armoured bulldozers and snipers on rooftops – into the city and its refugee camp. | According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 10 people have been killed and 100 injured, 20 of them critically, since Israel launched a series of drone strikes and sent between 1,000 and 2,000 ground troops – backed by armoured bulldozers and snipers on rooftops – into the city and its refugee camp. |
| The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the operation targeted a major Palestinian militant command centre. Fighting continued into Tuesday, after Israel carried out an airstrike on Monday afternoon near a mosque in the camp that the army said was being used by Palestinian gunmen. | |
| Jenin camp was set up in the 1950s to house refugees who fled their homes in 1948 after the creation of the Israeli state. The ghetto-like area, still plagued by poverty, has long been a hotbed of what Palestinians consider armed resistance and Israelis see as terrorism. | Jenin camp was set up in the 1950s to house refugees who fled their homes in 1948 after the creation of the Israeli state. The ghetto-like area, still plagued by poverty, has long been a hotbed of what Palestinians consider armed resistance and Israelis see as terrorism. |
| Roub said about 18,000 Palestinians lived in the crowded camp, but the exact figure is not known. The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency puts the number at 14,000, while official Palestinian data from 2020 says the camp is home to about 12,000 people. | |
| Hundreds of armed fighters from militant groups including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah are based there, and the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority – viewed by many Palestinians as a subcontractor for Israeli security – has next to no presence. | Hundreds of armed fighters from militant groups including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah are based there, and the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority – viewed by many Palestinians as a subcontractor for Israeli security – has next to no presence. |
| The Jenin Brigades, a unit made up of armed men from different factions, has been blamed for several terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens as the security situation across Israel and the West Bank has deteriorated over the past 18 months into the worst bloodshed in the two areas since the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, drew to an end in 2005. | |
| Operation Home and Garden has drawn comparisons with Israeli military tactics employed during that war and comes at a time of growing political pressure for a tough response to recent attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting last month that killed four Israelis. | Operation Home and Garden has drawn comparisons with Israeli military tactics employed during that war and comes at a time of growing political pressure for a tough response to recent attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting last month that killed four Israelis. |
| Monday’s events bring the death toll of Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year to 133. A total of 24 Israelis have been killed, and a surprise five-day Israeli operation in the blockaded Gaza Strip killed another 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. | Monday’s events bring the death toll of Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year to 133. A total of 24 Israelis have been killed, and a surprise five-day Israeli operation in the blockaded Gaza Strip killed another 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. |
| The Palestinians and three Arab countries with normalised ties with Israel – Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – condemned the incursion, as did the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. | |
| The White House said it defended Israel’s right to security and was monitoring the situation in the West Bank closely, while the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, called on the Israeli military to exercise restraint. | |
| “While we support Israel’s right to self-defence, the protection of civilians must be prioritised,” a spokesperson said. | “While we support Israel’s right to self-defence, the protection of civilians must be prioritised,” a spokesperson said. |
| The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank held an emergency meeting late on Monday, and said it would halt its already limited contacts with Israel. Leaders said a freeze on security coordination would remain in place, and they vowed to step up activity against Israel in the United Nations and international bodies. They also planned to minimise contacts with the US. | |
| Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defended the incursion, saying in recent months, Jenin had turned into a “safe haven for terrorism”. He said he was putting an end to this with “minimum harm to civilians”. | |
| The UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland warned that the escalation in the West Bank was “very dangerous”. Asked about the Israeli drone attacks on residential areas, the UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said: “Attacks on heavily populated areas are violations of international humanitarian law.” | |
| Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s chief military spokesperson, said Israel launched the operation because about 50 attacks over the past year had emanated from Jenin. Hagari added that the incursion was expected to last between one and three days, and Israel did not intend to hold ground in Jenin or any areas under the supposed jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. | |
| Jenin and nearby Nablus have been the major targets of the now more than year-old Israeli Operation Breakwater, which has involved near-nightly raids and some of the fiercest fighting in the West Bank since the second intifada. Vigilante attacks by West Bank-based Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages are also growing in scale and scope. | Jenin and nearby Nablus have been the major targets of the now more than year-old Israeli Operation Breakwater, which has involved near-nightly raids and some of the fiercest fighting in the West Bank since the second intifada. Vigilante attacks by West Bank-based Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages are also growing in scale and scope. |
| Despite the step-up in military activity, the security situation has deteriorated and Palestinian attacks are becoming deadlier: four Israelis were killed at a petrol station in the West Bank last month. | Despite the step-up in military activity, the security situation has deteriorated and Palestinian attacks are becoming deadlier: four Israelis were killed at a petrol station in the West Bank last month. |
| With agencies | With agencies |