For more than 24 hours now, the Israeli military has been operating inside the densely populated Jenin R.C. as if it were a battlefield and not a place where human beings live, work, study and dream.
Until now, reports have come in of aerial strikes and a ground invasion by tanks, APCs, bulldozers and hundreds of soldiers. Ten people have reportedly been killed so far, and hundreds injured, some critically. Evacuating the wounded has been a challenge as the military destroyed roads inside the camp as well as access roads to it. Hospitals are overrun and having difficulty providing the injured who have been evacuated with the care they need. Water, power and internet services have reportedly been cut off, and medical centers have sustained damage. Homes and other private property have also sustained massive damage. Thousands of civilians - children, women, men and the elderly - have been forced to flee their homes, some without knowing where they might go.
As far as the Israeli government is concerned, these actions are a necessity, part of its “fight against terrorism.” This implied assertion was unquestioningly accepted across the political spectrum in Israel, with members of almost every party rallying around the government, along with many in the international community. But the fighting in the refugee camp is not divorced from the objectives of the apartheid regime, which has been working for years to advance Jewish supremacy throughout the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River and military control over the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Committing massive human rights abuses while ignoring the humanity of Palestinians reflects the regime’s worldview.
Contrary to what policymakers in the military and the government say, such widespread intentional harm to civilians is unlawful and flies in the face of humanity’s basic moral norms. Some actions are out of bounds, even if it is a “war against terrorism,” and certainly when the agenda is advancing racist, violent political goals.
Policymakers refuse to distinguish between what is permitted and what is not, what is legitimate and what is criminal, what is humane and what is cruel. For the Israeli public, large swathes of which have for months been fighting against government plans that threaten to violate their rights - here is an opportunity to oppose human rights violations by the same government that are taking place right now. The international community has an obligation to set boundaries for Israel and act decisively to stop its attack on Jenin Refugee Camp.
