Sunday, September 01, 2024


JENIN IS A CITY NOT A CAMP


Israel destroyed 70% of Jenin's streets, infrastructure, says municipality

'Water has been cut off from 80% of the city and the entire camp due to the destruction of networks,' says Jenin Municipality official

Awad Rjoob |01.09.2024 - 



RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army destroyed about 70% of the streets and infrastructure in Jenin city in the northern West Bank during its ongoing military offensive for the fourth consecutive day, the local municipality said on Saturday.

“The occupying (Israeli) forces have demolished more than 70% of the city's streets completely (...) to a depth of approximately one to one-and-half meters, which has led to the destruction of water and sewage networks, as well as communication and electricity cables, in the areas that were demolished, initially estimated to cover 20 kilometers,” the Palestine news agency Wafa reported, citing Bashir Matahen, the director of Public Relations and Media at the Jenin Municipality.

He noted that “water has been cut off from 80% of the city and the entire camp due to the destruction of networks and the inability of technical teams to reach these networks to redirect them to other areas.”

Matahen continued: “The municipality teams are unable to access the damaged network areas despite their attempts, during which they were subjected to gunfire from the occupying (Israeli) forces.”

He also pointed out that the Israeli forces “have burned parts of the central vegetable market in the city, and initial estimates of the damage to the market and its commercial shops indicate that they have suffered severe damage, in addition to the destruction of hundreds of homes and vehicles.”

On Wednesday, the Israeli army launched its largest military offensive since 2002 in the cities of Tulkarm and Jenin, as well as in the Al-Fara refugee camp near Tubas, killing 22 Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in over 40,600 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 675 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala

Two Israelis killed in West Bank shooting amid deadly Jenin raids


Man and woman killed, third man critically injured in checkpoint shooting near Tarqumiyah, south of Hebron.

Hebron shooting [Screengrab/Al Jazeera]


Published On 1 Sep 2024

At least two Israeli security personnel have been killed and another injured in a shooting at a checkpoint in Hebron, as Israel brought reinforcements in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin as part of its ongoing deadly raids.

The shooting took place as the Israeli army continued its deadly assault on Jenin for a fifth consecutive day killing at least 24 Palestinians. Israel has killed more than 500 people as it intensified operations in the West Bank since it launched war on Gaza on October 7. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 11 months.

Israeli national emergency service Magen David Adom said on Sunday that a man and a woman were killed and that a third man in his 50s was being transferred to hospital in critical condition following the attack near the Tarqumiyah checkpoint, south of Hebron.

The Israeli army said it was conducting raid on the Palestinian village of Idna close to the scene of the shooting.

The Maariv newspaper reported that the three casualties were policemen working at the Hebron station who were shot at from a Palestinian car driving past.

“Attacks so far have been centered around the northern West Bank and in the Jordan Valley area and now we see more of them coming from the south of the West Bank,” Al Jazeera’s Niba Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said.

Meanwhile, Israeli siege on the city of Jenin has left Palestinians with no food, water, electricity and internet access.

Israeli forces stormed northern cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas backed by tankers, drones and bulldozers as part of its largest operations in the West Bank since the second intifada in 2002.

The Israeli army maintains that its intent is to target armed groups there to prevent future attacks. Gun battles have been reported in several locations and Hamas said at least 10 of its fighters, including a top commander, were killed this week.

However, the trail of destruction the Israeli army left behind from areas it has withdrawn from, including Tulkarem and Tubas, have raised concerns among residents that the army’s intent is to extend the war in Gaza into the West Bank and to push Palestinians out of their homes.

The Israeli army has severely destroyed infrastructures, water pipelines, and the electricity system.

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