Israeli forces raid Jenin, detain two Palestinians in first storming since deadly July assault

Israeli forces stormed the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Monday, resulting in armed clashes with Palestinian fighters, local sources told The New Arab’s Arabic language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Israeli forces entered the city from multiple directions before raiding the Wad Az-Din area in eastern Jenin, where they detained the former prisoner Fathi Atoum – less than two months after his release.

They also detained another Palestinian man, identified as Rabee Al-Sanouri, after raiding his home in the same area.

فيديو| جرافة عسكرية برفقة قوات الاحتلال خلال اقتحام مدينة جنين. pic.twitter.com/AfbweGfGtW

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 31, 2023

[Tweet translation: "A military bulldozer can be seen accompanying the occupation forces during the storming of Jenin"]

The incursion was the first since Israel's deadly 48-hour-long military assault on the city’s refugee camp earlier this month, which killed 13 Palestinians and injured hundreds.

Much of the overcrowded camp was destroyed and 3,000 residents were displaced.

Following the assault, Israeli media reported that an agreement was reached between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian Authority, stipulating the freezing of Israeli military activity in the city and giving the PA a chance to assert its control there.

The Jenin refugee camp, located inside the occupied West Bank, was set up in 1953 to house Palestinians who were forcefully expelled from their homes by Israeli forces during the 1948 Nakba - the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their land at the time of the creation of Israel.

The camp has a high population density, with an estimated population of 18,000, according to UNRWA.

Its people suffer from poverty and unemployment and face difficult living conditions, mainly due to Israeli sanctions which affect up to 80 percent of Jenin’s economy.