What was it like to flee the Israeli invasion of Jenin in the wake of the “earthquake”? | Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

When Saja Bawakneh stood outside her home in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, she found herself in a familiar place – the same place where her father was shot dead by Israeli forces a few years ago.

This time, she was waiting for a signal from an Israeli army officer that it was time to start walking to the city's main hospital after being forced to leave her home, five days after Israeli soldiers – backed by helicopters and drones – launched a 10-day incursion into Jenin.

It was 1:00 a.m., and she was with her 60-year-old mother, her two sisters, her pregnant sister-in-law, and her young niece and nephew.

Except for a small bag containing baby supplies, they had nothing but the clothes on their backs.

This was not the first time the Bawaqna family home had been raided, nor the first time the camp had come under attack. But this latest raid, which began about a week ago and continued until the Israeli forces withdrew on Friday, was the most intense, with residents of the town describing it as an “earthquake.”

At least 34 Palestinians were killed in the latest operation, which also targeted Tulkarm and other areas in the northern West Bank, as Israel continued its assault on the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip.

Israeli army bulldozers have leveled large swathes of the city of Jenin, which has been under siege for more than a week, destroying entire streets and buildings. Although the Israeli army has since withdrawn, residents fear that soldiers will return, temporarily relocating to surrounding military checkpoints.

“It usually takes 10 minutes to walk to the hospital, but because we were walking slowly, with our hands in the air, and the streets were damaged – it took much longer,” Bawaqna, 29, told Al Jazeera.

Israeli army vehicles destroyed large areas of the city and damaged basic infrastructure. [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]
Besieged then displaced

Bawakneh and six other members of her family had been hiding in their kitchen since the invasion began on August 28. The kitchen was the safest place in their four-story home in the heart of the Jenin refugee camp, away from the large windows and the Israeli snipers stationed outside.

They were unable to leave, and were rationing food, water and medicine while confined to their homes.

Five days after the house was stormed, a group of Israeli soldiers stormed it, after spending an hour firing live ammunition at the house and its surroundings.

“During the shooting, we were huddled in a corner of our kitchen, stacked on top of each other,” Buaqneh said, describing the shooting as “strong and excessive.”

“We heard explosions and people screaming,” she added.

They were all nervous, trying to envision and prepare for every possible scenario that would follow this entry into the house.

“We made sure the children were dressed and had their shoes on. We told them we were about to leave because we expected them to storm the place at any moment,” Bouakneh said.

“They were scared and held on to us tightly. Their legs were shaking so badly they couldn’t walk,” she said.

When they entered the house around 10 p.m., they arrived “in unbelievable numbers and started searching every room with dogs,” Buwaqna added.

“They came with enough food and water for days,” she added, noting that it was clear they would use the house “as a military base.”

After about three hours, an Israeli army officer confronted them and ordered them to leave. Bawaqna refused, saying it was unsafe for the children because the streets were destroyed and there was no electricity.

“He told us, ‘We’re going to have to lock you in a room,’ and that’s exactly what they did after confiscating our phones,” Bouakneh recalls.

The women sat in a room next to the main hall of the house, all wondering how long they would be locked up in this place.

After 45 minutes, another soldier opened the door and ordered the family to leave.

“I asked again if they could guarantee our safety while walking alone in the dark, and the officer said yes. So of course we had no other choice,” she said.

“We left and they wouldn’t let us take anything with us. We had no food, no water, no clothes, no money.”

After arriving at Jenin Governmental Hospital, Bawaqneh quickly realized that their situation was similar to that of many other families who were also forced to leave their homes and ended up in the hospital.

There was no way to know what was happening because of the power outage and lack of internet access, which made it difficult to keep up with what was happening in the camp and the eastern part of Jenin city.

“Destroyed” city

According to Bouaghna, the “terrified” families she met at the hospital also fled “without having anything in their pockets, not even a penny.”

“Those who arrived before us were sleeping in the maternity ward on the upper floor,” Bawaqna added.

“It is rare to see an entire family together,” she said, as many young people and children — especially those vulnerable to abuse and arrest by occupation soldiers — fled the camp to neighbouring areas when the operation began.

As the sun rose, people began arriving in large numbers, and families began “filling the yard” of the hospital, Bawaqna added.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have warned that the raids are making forced displacement inevitable.

Amnesty International also noted a “horrifying rise” in the use of lethal force by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Jenin Mayor Nidal Al-Obeidi agreed with him.

Al-Obaidi told Al Jazeera, “The raids and incursions have been taking place for several years, but their frequency and intensity increased after October 7, as did the destruction that comes with every incursion.”

He described the recent invasion as an “earthquake” that shook Jenin and its camp.

Jenin Mayor Nidal al-Obeidi says about 70 percent of Jenin was destroyed [Raneen Sawafta/Reuters]

“We see army bulldozers roaming the city streets, destroying infrastructure, water pipes and sewage networks. We see gunfire directed at telephone and electricity lines,” Al-Obeidi said.

“We are seeing the destruction of public facilities including schools, playgrounds and businesses. And of course many homes – either completely or partially – destroyed,” he added.

Al-Obeidi said that about 70 percent of the city of Jenin was destroyed.

According to him, families in about 120 homes were forced to flee, and many homes were partially or completely destroyed.

Bawaqneh’s home is one of those. When he returned to check on his family’s home on Friday, Bawaqneh said that Israeli soldiers had “turned the house upside down,” vandalizing it beyond recognition.

The main door of the house was broken, the windows of the house were smashed, the furniture including the bed was smashed, and the occupation soldiers had drawn on the walls and on the pictures of the martyr Bawaqna’s father.

“Every corner of the house has been destroyed, our kitchen appliances have been used and abused, and it will take weeks to make this space livable again,” she added.

Some families' homes were in worse condition, with Al-Obaidi saying that “dozens of homes were completely demolished.”

More than 100 shops and stores were destroyed, especially those located in the commercial square in Jenin.

Videos, documented by Al Jazeera's fact-checking agency Sanad, showed Israeli army bulldozers destroying local businesses and residential buildings in Jenin.

Al-Obaidi said that the municipality is working to repair some water pipes and electricity lines in some areas, especially those near the hospital.

But it was “very difficult with the heavy presence of Israeli occupation forces, who shot at my car personally, and at the electricity trucks,” according to Al-Obeidi.

Unable to leave

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams were also struggling to respond to people trapped in Jenin and its refugee camp because of restrictions on movement by Israeli forces. Many were running short of food, water, baby formula and other essentials.

Local journalist Iman al-Silawi told Al Jazeera that occupation soldiers surrounded the commercial square in the heart of the camp and declared it a “closed military zone.”

Local journalists who spoke to Al Jazeera said that only a small portion of the camp’s 12,000 residents had managed to flee since the operation began. Those fleeing headed to areas on the outskirts of the city, or to areas of the camp far from the centres of the fighting.

Al-Silawi said that while dozens of residents of the eastern part of the camp, including the main Al-Damj neighbourhood, were forced out by occupation soldiers, “thousands of other families remained in the camp.”

She said this was because they either could not leave safely, or simply did not have the means to do so.

“We have lost hope”

Israeli attacks on Jenin are not new.

Jenin has been the focus of Israeli military incursions several times in the past, since the Second Intifada that broke out in 2000.

During these attacks, Israeli forces often destroy entire neighborhoods, claiming they harbor Palestinian fighters.

Aid workers say conditions in the camp are desperate even without the raids. According to the United Nations, unemployment is high and poverty is widespread.

Despite the many challenges facing them, Al-Obaidi stressed that the people of Jenin have always been “steadfast” in the face of Israeli “aggression.”

Like many others, Bawakneh said she hopes her family can return to their home after it is renovated. She said Israeli soldiers used it as a “base” when they left, adding that she was shocked but not surprised by the extent of the “deliberate damage” to their home and property.

“We are very tired,” she said. The family, now living in a temporary home on the outskirts of Jenin, will have to repair the extensive damage again and pay for it from their own savings.

“The scale of the destruction, the losses and the fear of the unknown is what worries me more than anything else,” she said. “We have lost hope of resuming anything resembling normal life because the camp is not receiving any kind of support.”

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos