Nadine Osman
The United Nations, its human rights affiliates, and the European Union representative to the Palestinian territories have condemned Israel’s use of excessive military force in its two-day ground and aerial invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, in what has been described as its largest military operation in twenty years.
The consequences of “Operation Home and Garden”, which killed 12 Palestinians, including five children, injured more than 140, forced over 4,000 people to flee, damaged and destroyed hundreds of homes, vehicles, shops, schools, and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks, infuriated UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who also chastised Israel for preventing first responders from reaching those in need.
Speaking on July 6, a day after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin, Guterres said, “Israeli forces used excessive force” and urged Israel to “abide by its obligations under international law,” exercise restraint, and use only proportional force.
“The use of airstrikes is inconsistent with the conduct of law enforcement operations,” he said. Guterres reminded Israel that “as the occupying power, it has a responsibility to ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence.”
The UN’s rare condemnation of Israel came just a day after UN Palestinian rights experts ruled that Israel’s military raids may constitute a war crime.
In a joint statement, the expert panel, comprised of Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territory; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons; and Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, stated that “Israeli forces’ operations in the occupied West Bank, killing and seriously injuring the occupied population, destroying their homes and infrastructure, and arbitrarily displacing thousands, amount to egregious violations of international law and standards on the use of force and may constitute a war crime.”
“The attacks were the fiercest in the West Bank since the destruction of the Jenin camp in 2002,” experts said. “It is heartbreaking to see thousands of Palestinian refugees, originally displaced since 1947–1949, forced to march out of the camp in abject fear in the dead of night,” they added.
The statement also condemned Israeli forces’ so-called “counterterrorism” actions as having “no legal justification under international law” and expressed “grave concern” about military weaponry and tactics deployed by Israel’s occupation forces at least twice over the last two weeks against Jenin’s population.
Ahead of the Israeli withdrawal, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to conduct similar operations if needed.
Nearly 190 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year, according to the Health Ministry. At least 25 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.
Estimates indicate that around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the occupied West Bank. As the Israeli army retreated from Jenin, ending the city’s heaviest military operation in more than 20 years, Palestinian residents emerged from their homes to find piles of rubble.“They destroyed everything,” Umm Mohamed told Anadolu.
“Israeli soldiers raided the city at night and forced us out of our homes,” she said. “But when we returned in the morning, we could not recognise our houses.”
“The Jenin refugee camp was destroyed as if an earthquake had struck the area. Everything is in ruins,” said Umm Akram, who, along with many other residents, had to flee the area following the Israeli military raid.
She adds, “The scene in the camp is a reminder of 2002, when the camp suffered massive destruction in the Israeli offensive.”
Jamil Talib said his house was turned into a barracks by Israeli forces. “My car was crushed by Israeli bulldozers, and my house was seized and turned into barracks by Israeli soldiers,” said the 42-year-old. He said Palestinian homes in the camp were raided by Israeli forces one by one. “Israeli snipers used my house as a military post,” he recalled.
Aliye al-Bali, 55, said, “Israeli soldiers even stole my gold jewellery.” In a visit organised by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, dozens of foreign diplomats visited the Jenin refugee camp on July 8 to check on the destruction caused by the Israeli military raid.
Diplomats from 30 countries met with locals and representatives of NGOs and listened to them about the situation in the camp following the Israeli assault.
“The [Israeli] military assault on Jenin was painful,” Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, the EU representative to the Palestinian Authority, told a press conference held at the camp. He stressed that what happened in the camp was a “violation of international law.”
Despite international condemnation, the Israeli government claimed “an exclusive right” to impose its sovereignty over the West Bank.
The statement was made in a written response by Government Secretary Yossi Fox to Adalah, the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, on June 19, and its content was published a day before the visit by foreign diplomats.
In the letter, Fox said, “Jewish people have the exclusive right to self-determine these lands (the West Bank).” Adalah said in a statement that the letter was in response to a request by the NGOs for authorities to halt recent decisions to allow the construction of hundreds of illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank.
It added that the Israeli government’s response “categorically denied” any right to self-determination for Palestinians on their lands.
Adalah’s legal unit head, Suhad Bishara, said the Israeli government’s response contradicted international law related to the occupied territories.
Under international law, all Israeli Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are illegal.
Adalah’s disregard for international law comes as US President Joe Biden said that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet contained some of the “most extreme” members he had seen, accusing them of being “part of the problem” in the occupied West Bank.
Several countries, including Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), condemned the Israeli offensive. The UK has encouraged Israel to “exercise restraint,” but has made no mention of the disproportionate loss of Palestinian life or the massive infrastructural devastation wrought by the occupying Israeli military raid.
Asked by The Muslim News if Downing Street agrees with the UN Secretary-General that Israel has used excessive force against Palestinians, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “We have been clear that, while Israel does have the right to defend itself against terrorism, we are at all times urging the Israeli defence forces to demonstrate restraint and ensure civilians are protected.
We have spoken to both sides to de-escalate tensions and continue to support efforts towards renewing peace negotiations.”
“I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror,” Guterres said on July 6, a day after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin.
Photos: António Guterres, secretary-general of the UN (Credit: WikiCommons). A Palestinian lady stands inside her burned-out house in Jenin, West Bank, which was targeted by Israeli troops. (Credit: Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency)
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