Israeli forces wreak havoc in Jenin on second day of raid

The Israeli military on Wednesday killed one Palestinian and wounded four others in Jenin, as they pressed on with a large-scale raid across the occupied West Bank city for a second day in a row.

The military incursion started in the early hours of Tuesday, with Israeli forces carrying out a wide arrest campaign in the city, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Five people were killed on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, with footage shared online showing Israeli military vehicles blocking ambulances and obstructing medical assistance during the raids. 

While attempting to evacuate a wounded person during the incursion, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that Israeli forces used their personnel as human shields.

"The occupation forces used our team as human shields after detaining them inside a house while they were en route to evacuate an injured person in the eastern neighborhood of #Jenin, during a raid on the house," PRCS said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

The Israeli military has wreaked havoc across Jenin over the past two days, conducting raids and destroying homes, roads and infrastructure.

Repeated raids

Naseem Yousef al-Nakheileh, a store owner in the city, told Middle East Eye that residents have gotten used to the incursions by the Israeli army.

"The first attack they committed against us was bulldozing the roads and the entire area, they also harmed us as businesses," he said. 

Nakheileh added that this is the third incursion in his area, saying that "each raid becomes more difficult than the last."

"The [Israeli army] is making us get used to all this so that we aren't surprised if one day they come and bulldoze everything," he said. 

"They want to scare us, displace us and make us tired of living... in any way possible. 

"But we will remain defiant. We don't care what they do or attack, we will still restore and fix. Even if we had to build a tent, we will sell out of it, and we will remain here."

Destroyed neighbourhoods

Omar Mohammed Abu Ras, a young resident in Jenin, told MEE that the Israeli army destroyed the infrastructure in his area.

"The neighbourhood is destroyed. The bulldozers entered, dug up the place and destroyed the area," Abu Ras said, describing how the army bulldozed buildings, stores and infrastructure.

Palestine: In Jenin, families are enduring poverty and an endless cycle of Israeli raids

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"They left nothing functioning," he added.

Mahmoud Naseem Jalal, another youth in the city, recalled the damage done by the Israeli army over several raids in the area. 

"They demolished the roundabout and demolished the stores. This is probably the third or fourth time they've done this with extreme hatred."

He said that two Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers and two regular bulldozers entered the area Tuesday night, with military jeeps stationed on a path called the "industrial road". The vehicles circulated the area until around 5am, before heading off to a nearby neighbourhood, where they now remain. 

Wafa reported that over the past two days, the Israeli military bulldozed power lines, leading to a power outage across the city. 

Moreover, the army destroyed other vital infrastructure, including cutting off water lines to several areas and demolishing roads and residential homes. 

Local media also reported that the army had conducted a raid on the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin refugee camp.

This is not the first time the military has stormed the community theatre. In late December of last year, troops ransacked the theatre, destroying offices, knocking down a wall and firing from inside the building.

A municipality stadium in the eastern neighbourhood of the city as well as several shops and homes were also affected by the large-scale assault, Wafa reported.

The agency added that public and private schools in the city have been suspended and have switched to online schooling as a result of the ongoing Israeli army aggression.