The Israeli siege of the West Bank city of Jenin has left Palestinian residents without food, water, and electricity. The medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) accuses Israeli forces of obstructing access to healthcare facilities and targeting ambulances.
“All basic necessities,” including bread in the refugee camp, “no longer exist,” states Taher al-Saadi, a resident of Jenin who has managed to escape. Fayza Abu Jaafar, another resident who fled Jenin, describes the situation as “very difficult” for the children still trapped in the area, as they are “afraid” of the destruction caused by Israeli forces.
The Israeli military reinforced its presence on Sunday after demolishing shops and bulldozing streets while preventing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians from accessing humanitarian aid. This action has been described as a “war crime.” Israel has also faced accusations of war crimes during its ongoing military offensive in Gaza.
According to the municipality of Jenin, the Israeli army has bulldozed nearly 70 percent of the city’s streets and 20 kilometers of the city’s water and sewage network since the initial raids began on August 28. As a result, 80 percent of the Jenin refugee camp, which houses 20,000 people, is now without access to water, the municipality reports.
At least 24 Palestinians have been killed during a five-day Israeli offensive, which Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim describes as “the most destructive raid we have seen in decades.” “We hear exchanges of gunfire and heavy explosions,” reports Ibrahim. “The main streets of Jenin have also been destroyed, and bulldozers are digging in the area.”
Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, has likened the situation to the destruction caused by Israel in 2002, when the camp was “flattened” and several people were killed. In addition to extensive damage to public utilities and infrastructure, Israeli troops have also raided many homes, damaging and “looting” private properties, while residents have reportedly faced interrogation and “harsh treatment,” according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
MSF stated that a trained volunteer from the organization has also been subjected to interrogation and mistreatment. Israeli forces have surrounded Khalil Suleiman Hospital, forcing the hospital staff to suspend dialysis treatments for patients in Jenin. “Israel must respect its obligations as an occupying power in the occupied West Bank,” says MSF.
Since October 7, Israel has killed at least 675 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, while more than 10,300 Palestinians have been arrested and detained by Israeli forces. Israel’s intensified campaign in the occupied West Bank has culminated in bombings of Gaza, which have resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths and the destruction of large portions of the besieged enclave.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, stated that Israel’s actions in Gaza over the past 11 months are now unfolding in the occupied West Bank. “This has truly become an open war,” said Roth, who is now a visiting scholar at Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
He added: “One of the fundamental rules is that Israel must allow access to humanitarian aid. It cannot simply cut off food, water, electricity, and medical assistance, as we have heard it is doing. It has an obligation to allow these into the civilian population.” Roth pointed out that Israel cannot use the presence of militants in the occupied West Bank as an excuse for “starving civilians.” “Instead of combating militants, which Israel has the right to do, it is fighting the entire population. And that is a clear war crime.”