‘We live in a state of fear’: Jenin residents ‘terrified’ as IDF bombards West Bank and settler violence grows
‘What is this life? Where is the world?’ Anxious Jenin locals speak to Maryam Zakir-Hussain as Israeli raids ramp up in the occupied Palestinian territory
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Your support makes all the difference.Terrified children and desperate mothers line the corridors of Jenin’s public hospital, taking shelter from Israeli soldiers as they raid a nearby refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
While much of the focus on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has been on the Gaza strip, Palestinians in the West Bank are facing a multitude of threats, from air strikes above to settlers and soldiers on the ground.
“The soldiers cross all lines now,” Dr Wisam Bakr, general director of Jenin Governmental Hospital, told The Independent.
“Our staff are in danger. An unarmed Palestinian man was killed in front of the emergency department hospital by Israeli soldiers.”
The victim, Yanal Hamran, was shot in the head on his twenty-second birthday. Dr Bakr said he was not part of any resistance organisation, but was a policeman off-duty working in the hospital cafeteria selling sandwiches to make ends meet.
Attacks by Israeli soldiers in Jenin and what the EU has branded “settler terrorism” across the West Bank have increased in severity since 7 October when more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in Hamas attacks.
The Israeli army is currently investigating videos and photos of Israeli soldiers allegedly abusing blinded and handcuffed Palestinian workers in the West Bank. The Times of Israel and CNN have both reported that soldiers were recorded abusing labourers near Hebron, stripping them and kicking them.
The UN says that violence involving Israeli settlers has doubled from three incidents per day earlier this year to seven, with 171 attacks against Palestinians recorded in the week since 7 October.
“We have documented that in many of these incidents, settlers were accompanied by members of the Israeli forces, or the settlers were wearing uniforms and carrying army rifles,” Liz Throssell, a UN spokesperson said.
At least 164 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, and at least 2,100 injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry. In Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says the death toll has now exceeded 10,328 people.
Abeer Al-Kilani, a marketing officer at Ibn Sina Hospital, lives in the Al-Jabriyat neighbourhood near the refugee camp. She was sitting in the courtyard of her home when “the sound of sirens suddenly filled the air” on Thursday night.
“Dozens and dozens of army forces” entered Jenin followed by Israeli special forces, she said. “They destroyed many streets in Jenin and demolished more than five national monuments with memorials to the martyrs.
“They opened fire in the streets and shot indiscriminately at civilians. They killed five young people in the city.”
On 22 October, Israeli aircraft struck a compound beneath a mosque in the West Bank, killing at least one person. The Israeli forces claimed the site was being used by militants to organise attacks.
Just over a week later on 2 November, at least 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank, including five people from Jenin, local sources told The Independent.
Ms Al-Kilani claimed the soldiers even “opened fire” on the hospital where she works, as the Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported shooting in all directions after Israeli army vehicles were deployed around the hospital’s vicinity. Dr Bakr said Israeli forces also bulldozed part of the Jenin Governmental Hospital’s outer wall.
“Jenin is now completely ruined,” she said. The city was still reeling from a catastrophic two-day raid in July, where 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier were killed, when retaliations for Hamas’ assault began.
Yasmine Hantouli, a journalist in Jenin, said Israeli military came into Jenin and took “a lot of men and women and children that have nothing to do with Hamas” in the days following 7 October.
“A lot of their families don’t know what has happened to them now,” the 21-year-old said. “Parents are scared for their children. Now in Jenin, every household has either someone who has been injured or killed.
“We live in a state of fear and tension. It’s just getting worse.”
One father, who only wanted to be identified as Y.S., said the sound of drones keeps him awake all night.
“You cannot describe the feeling when you hear this sound over your head and your house,” Y.S. said. “It’s madness. They attack Jenin every night. When the soldiers enter a house, they destroy everything.
“We are suffering the brutality of the army and the settlers who are confiscating the land.”
Y.S said his friend’s house was shot at during the attacks on Thursday night. “A rocket hit next to his bedroom but luckily it stuck the water tank that we keep on our roofs here. He is lucky his family was not killed.”
As well as raids, Palestinians in the West Bank are also being stripped of their livelihood as Israeli soldiers threaten shops and businesses, Y.S claimed.
“They are confiscating money from businessmen. Now people are scared to open their shops because they are afraid the Israeli military will come and arrest them,” he said. “It’s a barbaric regime of thieves.
“What is this life? Where is the world? All we want is freedom and peace.”
Responding to the video investigation of Israeli military soldiers abusing Palestinians, a spokesperson said: “The [soldiers’] conduct that emerges from these scenes is grave and inconsistent with the values of the IDF.
“The incidents are under investigation. The IDF commanders will hold talks with all the soldiers on the front. One soldier has been dismissed from reserve service.”
In a response to Reuters about settler attacks, the Israeli military said the “incidents create more clashes, and it’s people who have taken the law into their own hands”.
The Israeli military has not commented on the shooting of Yanal Hamran.
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