We call on the Israeli government to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the rights and protection of Palestinian people, including refugees.
Israeli forces are conducting fresh raids on the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the West Bank in a military operation that has left 11 dead since it started on Tuesday. The health ministry said 34 people been had been injured, with three in a critical condition.
With hospitals in the city reportedly under siege, access to healthcare is being severely impacted. According to MSF, ambulances are being blocked from reaching hospitals and a 13-year-old boy, who had to be carried inside a facility by his father for this reason, later died. In Jenin refugee camp, the PRCS said it was being obstructed from responding to emergency calls and that people were experiencing shortages of baby formula and bread as they were unable to leave their homes. UNRWA said its operations in the refugee camp had been severely impacted by the ongoing raids and were currently suspended.
This latest military operation marks the 15th time that Israeli forces have entered Jenin since October 7. In the hugely densely populated refugee camp, which is home to more than 17,000 Palestinian refugees, numerous buildings have been destroyed – with little time for recovery before the raids start again. People are living in constant fear and uncertainty as they wonder when the next raid will take place.
Noor*, a mother who lives in Jenin refugee camp, said of the frequent raids:
“This has become a normal part of the reality of living in the camp, which directly affects the women, children, and youth. As of today, they live in a state of stress and instability, a state of insecurity. Women these days live in constant fear of losing their family members. They do their best to provide a safe space for their children, and themselves. They understand how difficult it would be to leave the camp and their homes but the living situation is very difficult for people there.
“Children...scream in their sleep. Some children cannot sleep. They feel unsafe. Today, these boys and girls no longer feel safe in their homes. They don’t feel the walls surrounding them are protecting them anymore.”
Families in Jenin and across the West Bank have also been hugely impacted economically since October 7. Around 160,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank who were working in Israel and Jewish settlements have either lost or are at risk of losing their jobs after border crossings between the West Bank and Israel or settlements were closed, according to the UN’s International Labour Organisation.
Noor said: “Most men used to work in shops inside the city or somewhere within occupied Palestine. However, in the current circumstances, and with the border crossings closed, and the war waged by the occupation on Gaza today, people have lost their jobs and businesses. They no longer have any source of income to meet the basic needs of their families. It is very difficult for one to lose all sense of balance, everything to do with having a decent and sustainable life, a life where they can protect their families.”
The increasing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank from both the Israeli forces and settlers has resulted in 271 deaths since October 7 – making 2023 the territory’s deadliest year since the UN began recording casualties in 2005. Life has become increasingly difficult, with hundreds of people displaced from their homes, freedom of movement strictly curtailed, and homes and schools demolished. This cannot go on: we call on the Israeli government to respect its obligations under international humanitarian law and to ensure the rights and protection of Palestinian people, including refugees.
Riham Jafari, Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine said: “Yet again people in Jenin are living in terror as violence returns to their doorsteps. Its citizens have already experienced multiple raids over the last two months, and they are frightened and exhausted.
“It is totally unacceptable that people’s access to hospitals is being restricted and their fundamental right to healthcare is being denied. Medics must be allowed to do their jobs and treat the sick and injured without obstruction.
“The situation in the West Bank is becoming worse and worse for Palestinians, who simply wish to go about their daily lives in peace. We call for an immediate end to the violence and for their human rights to be respected.”