By Mumtaz Moosa | mumtazs@icloud.com
6 July 2023 | 19:30 CAT
2 min read

Photo Credit: The Guardian

Jenin is a small city far North of the West Bank, near the border of Israel.

The area became home to many Palestinian families displaced when Israel was created in 1948 and remained one of Palestine’s most impoverished areas.

According to many media houses, Jenin is the centre point of the Palestinian resistance forces and has strong backing. With poverty and unemployment rising yearly, tensions in Jenin have grown.

In 2002 Israel launched a major assault on the Jenin refugee camp, which was the scene of the worst violence during the second Intifada. During this time, more than 400 homes were destroyed, and over a quarter of the population in Jenin was left homeless. 

Jenin emerged as a flashpoint during the Israeli-Palestinian wave of violence that convulsed the occupied West Bank for over a year. Deadly confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in the area have become common. 

It is estimated that close to 3000 people have fled the violence in the area; many will be left homeless as their homes have been destroyed. State leaders globally have called for an end to the violence in the area and condemned the latest attacks.