Possessed by Jabotinsky, Israel is choking the life out of Jenin

On January 19, the Israeli army invaded the Jenin refugee camp following a month-and-a-half-long siege by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces.

It is now understood that the PA was effectively clearing the way for the Israeli invasion — a result of the security coordination mechanism between the two.

The Israeli army has continued the blockade of the camp, preventing basic supplies from entering and as a result forcing at least 20,000 of its 24,000 residents to leave.

Others were forced to leave at gunpoint so that soldiers could set up bases in their homes. The army also brought in bulldozers to dig up most of the roads and destroy vital infrastructure including telecommunication lines. There have been various airstrikes and entire residential blocks have been blown up.

Because the camp has been blockaded, journalists and humanitarian workers have been largely unable to enter but residents themselves report that much of the camp has been levelled to the ground. 

Jenin: An omen?

In late January, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the Israeli army would remain in the camp, indicating that the residents would not be allowed back.

This siege on Jenin camp is part of a wider operation called the ‘Iron Wall’ which is being implemented across the northern West Bank.

The operation is named after the seminal work of Ze’ev Jabotinsky — the founder of the Revisionist Zionist Movement.

In it, Jabotinsky argued that the focus of the Jewish State should not be on the utopian ideals of the so-called socialist Zionists, but rather on establishing a strong military power to take the land by force from the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants.

It is widely understood that Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall is the ideology driving Netanyahu’s policies and it’s crucial to understanding what is unfolding in the West Bank today.

In addition to Jenin, other areas in the north have also been closed and subject to military invasions.

On January 26, in a small village south of Jenin, two-year-old Laila al-Khatib was having dinner with her family when she was killed after being shot in the head by Israeli forces.

Laila is not the only child to have been killed since the start of this military operation; at least ten other Palestinian children have also been killed.

Another area that has been subject to intense Israeli violence is Tulkarem and in particular, the Nur Al Shams refugee camp where 75% of the camp’s 15,000 residents have been forcibly expelled.

Similar to Jenin, homes have been raided, roads destroyed and medical facilities shut down. On February 9, Israeli soldiers killed two women in the camp — one of whom was 8 months pregnant. 

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The Israeli regime’s stated goal is to rid the northern West Bank of the Palestinian armed resistance which have traditionally had strongholds in the northern refugee camps.

In this way, it is considered an extension of their assault on Gaza and attempts to eradicate Hamas.

Yet we have to consider that the depopulation of these camps is also an attack on Palestinian refugeehood and with it the right of return, particularly in the wider context of Israel attempting to permanently close down UNRWA — the UN agency mandated to protect Palestinian refugees. 

Elsewhere in the West Bank, and beyond the scope of Operation Iron Wall, the Israeli army has closed roads, installed even more checkpoints and locked gates at the entrances to many Palestinian villages. Further restrictions on Palestinian movement have severely impacted daily life, with many unable to reach workplaces, and schools. 

Hospitals are functioning at only 70% capacity. In many cases, people are not able to reach them. Mass incarceration of Palestinians continues to be a routine practice, with the Israeli regime arresting many more prisoners that it is releasing under the conditions of the ceasefire exchanges. Overall, life under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank has intensified tenfold.

Whilst much of the world has been focused on US President Trump’s repulsive comments on the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and the preposterous suggestion that the US “takes over” the strip, less attention has been paid to his plans for the West Bank.

Indeed after meeting with Netanyahu, Trump stated that his administration would be announcing the official Israeli annexation of the West Bank in the coming four weeks. Some are claiming that this will be the reward for the ceasefire in Gaza and indeed it looks very likely that this will be the case. 

Whilst the reality on the ground is one of de facto annexation where one sovereign power decides on the lives of everyone who lives between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, a US green light for official annexation will simply accelerate the levels of violence that Palestinians are subjected to. Moreover, it will bring Netanyahu and the Zionist project closer to the original fantasies of Jabotinsky of a land free of its indigenous Palestinian population.

Yara Hawari is the Co-Director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.

Follow her on Twitter: @yarahawari

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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.