Israel Extends War on Jenin Amid World Silence

Israel’s ongoing attack on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank is an extension of its large-scale aggression against the Palestinian people and their land.

Since the international community has remained mostly silent about Israel’s aggressive strategy against the Palestinians, the occupation has been able to escalate its military assault and reach new parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. With its latest campaign in Jenin, Israel threatens to repeat its genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has killed and injured roughly 158,000 Palestinians and destroyed over 70% of the Strip’s buildings, in the West Bank.

The Israeli occupation army launched its most recent attack last Tuesday afternoon (21 January), when Israeli special forces infiltrated the Jenin camp. This was followed by the arrival of numerous soldiers and military vehicles, the launch of attack and drone aircraft, and the Israeli military and political leadership’s declaration that a massive military operation known as the “Iron Wall” had begun.

As part of a larger security effort to seek out members of armed Palestinian factions under the guise of maintaining security, the Palestinian security services had been occupying the Jenin camp for 48 days. The security services withdrew in tandem with the Israeli incursion.

Nine Palestinians, including a child, were killed, and 40 others were wounded when Israeli occupation forces launched multiple airstrikes, dropped bombs from quadcopter drones, and opened fire on Palestinians attempting to flee the camp.

Two members of armed Palestinian factions were besieged in a house in the town of Burqin, west of Jenin, and then killed extrajudicially by the occupation forces the day after the operation.

Under the supervision of “quadcopter” aircraft, Israeli occupation forces also illegally ordered the residents to evacuate the neighbourhoods they had overrun in the Jenin camp. Israeli forces conducted a campaign of home raids and searches, arrested civilians, and purposefully set fire to civilians’ homes and damaged the camp’s infrastructure. Dozens of Palestinians were abused and questioned by Israeli forces before eventually being permitted to leave the camp. Other residents were forced by members of the occupation army to follow specific routes and were inspected and questioned in groups.

According to a security official quoted by Israel’s Channel 14, the Israeli Cabinet’s decision prompted the start of the Jenin campaign. The official declared: “We are starting a massive campaign in the northern West Bank that could go on for several months. We will act there just as we did in Gaza. They will be left in ruins by us.”

Euro-Med Monitor expresses deep concern over a parallel campaign launched by the Palestinian security services against civilians and members of Palestinian factions as they attempted to flee the Jenin camp and a few nearby villages in the governorate. Following Israel’s incursion into the camp, Palestinian security forces repositioned themselves outside the camp and in nearby villages, where they arrested a number of civilians and members of factions who had managed to flee the camp due to the threat of the Israeli military assault.

The systematic practice of making arrests, particularly of individuals attempting to flee life-threatening military operations, is a grave human rights violation that goes against the Palestinian Authority’s applicable local and international legal obligations.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Palestine has acceded without reservation, guarantees the right to liberty and security of person, as well as the right to be free from arbitrary arrest or detention. Thus, the practice of arbitrary detention without due process is a blatant violation of international law.

Additionally, the detention of these individuals is a public attempt to degrade and mistreat Palestinians, with horrifying photos of their arrest and torture—e.g. their being beaten, dragged, and trampled on by those with shoes on—being posted on social media platforms. To spread terror among Palestinians and foster a culture of fear, silence, and powerlessness, detainees are being coerced into making false statements, including apologies to the security services, in an attempt to diminish their dignity and take advantage of them under threats of torture.

The fact that these photos are released with the consent of the people who commit these violations shows that their actions are premeditated, rather than unintentional. This indicates that the decision to publish the images is being made with the express purpose of compromising the detainees’ human dignity.

These acts clearly violate the State of Palestine’s obligations under international law and are crimes defined by both international law and Palestinian domestic legislation, particularly the Palestinian Basic Law. They also blatantly contradict the fundamental principles of dignity and personal freedom.

Given the decades-long impunity it has been granted by the international community, Israel is being encouraged to increase its aggression against Palestinians in the region. Israel could potentially commit the crime of genocide, which it has subjected Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to for more than 15 months, to Palestinians in the West Bank.

In its 2004 advisory opinion on the legal ramifications of the wall’s construction in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the International Court of Justice affirmed that Israel, as the occupying power of the Palestinian territory, does not have the right to defend itself when it comes to addressing the security threats it invokes, provided that the threats originate within the occupied Palestinian territories that Israel controls.

The international community needs to step in right now to protect Palestinian civilians and put an end to Israel’s operation in the West Bank. Israel has repeatedly stated its intention to annex the West Bank and establish sovereignty over it, which has led to the military operation.

The international community must support the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination in accordance with international law, guarantee their right to live in freedom and dignity, and work to end Israeli settler colonialism and the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. It must also dismantle Israel’s apartheid and isolationist system against the Palestinians, lift the illegal siege of the Gaza Strip, ensure that all Israeli perpetrators are held accountable and prosecuted, and guarantee that all Palestinian victims receive compensation and redress.

Pressure must also be applied by all pertinent parties to the Palestinian Authority to cease making arbitrary arrests and to revoke any measures that violate the Palestinian people’s fundamental rights and jeopardise their right to self-determination.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of citizens in connection with the ongoing Israeli military operation and the publication of degrading photographs—a practice that has been used repeatedly since the Palestinian security services besieged the Jenin camp—must be conducted by the appropriate authorities. The only way to secure the protection of human rights and the dignity of Palestinian citizens in the face of continuous Israeli violations is to hold accountable the perpetrators of these violations, and make sure that such oppressive practices are stopped and not repeated in the future.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

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Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israeli Army Admits ‘Colossal Failure’ on 7 October

The Israeli army released its findings on Thursday after months of investigations into the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, admitting to a “colossal failure” in anticipating the “Al-Aqsa Flood Operation​​​​​​​” launched by the Palestinian resistance group.

The investigation report said the military was unprepared for the attack, having been caught off guard by the number of Palestinian fighters who breached military bases and settlements near Gaza, according to Israeli Army Radio.

The findings also revealed that the army was surprised by the speed and coordination of the attack, which exceeded all expectations.

Doron Kadosh, the military correspondent for Israeli Army Radio, reported that the army admitted it had not considered the possibility of a large-scale surprise attack like the one on Oct. 7.

Kadosh wrote on his X that a threat of such an attack was never taken seriously or even considered, which left the army unprepared to counter it.

The investigation findings confirmed that Hamas fighters completely overran the Israeli army’s Gaza Division for several hours, specifically between 6:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

During this time, the Israeli military had no control over the area near Gaza. It took around 10 hours for the army to regain operational control over the region, which Hamas had effectively seized.

According to Army Radio, the findings exposed the army’s reliance on flawed strategic assumptions, including the belief that “Gaza posed a secondary threat that did not require significant military attention and that Hamas was deterred and focused on maintaining calm for economic benefits.”

The investigation further concluded that the army allowed “a severe security threat to develop along its borders by over-relying on the defensive barrier while significantly weakening border defense forces, including a shortage of troops in areas near Gaza.”

Additionally, the findings pointed to a sense of “arrogance” within the army and “overconfidence” in its intelligence superiority, with a firm belief that any potential Palestinian attack would be preceded by an intelligence warning.

“There was no one who saw or detected any sign of this event in advance, not even at the lowest intelligence level,” one of the central investigations found.

However, the lack of such a warning caused a major shock to military leadership and contributed to the chaos of the attack’s initial hours.

Several Israeli political, military, and security officials have previously admitted to personal responsibility for the failure to prevent the Oct. 7 attack.

As a result, some officials resigned, most notably Aharon Haliva, chief of the army’s Military Intelligence Directorate.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday criticized the Israeli army for not sending him the findings of the investigations.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Netanyahu’s office sent a letter to the Ministry of Defense demanding an explanation for why the army had not submitted its investigation findings on Oct. 7.

However, Netanyahu has so far refused to take any responsibility for the attack or to establish an official investigation committee into the events of that day.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, pausing the Israeli war that has killed more than 48,300 people, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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As it bans two MEPs many are asking what is Israel hiding?

Israel’s decision to bar two members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from entering its territory due to their pro-Palestine position is arbitrary and unfair. It also reflects Israel’s strategy of concealing its crimes against Palestinians, and is an expected reaction to MEPs who reject the complicit role most European politicians have assumed in response to the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli authorities stopped MEP Lynn Boylan, the head of the European Parliament EU-Palestine delegation, and MEP Rima Hassan upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. The EU lawmakers were returned to Europe because of Hassan’s alleged “hostile” campaign to boycott and sanction Israel.

This decision reveals Israeli decision-makers’ disregard for fundamental human rights, such as freedom of movement and freedom of opinion and expression. It also embodies Israeli authorities’ insistence on its blackout policy and systematic restrictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. These restrictions are intended to prevent any independent oversight or disclosure of the facts; by prohibiting the entry of human rights activists, independent investigation teams, politicians, journalists, and individuals opposed to its policies, Israel is attempting to hide evidence of its violations and monopolise public perception to avoid international scrutiny and accountability.

https://twitter.com/LNBDublin/status/1895218956560187853

This arbitrary measure is also used to maintain Israel’s illegal control over Palestinian borders and crossings. As part of its crime of apartheid and other human rights violations against the Palestinians, Israel uses its total control over movement into and out of the Occupied Palestinian Territory to persecute organisations and individuals for simply opposing illegal Israeli policies. It also denies the Palestinians their natural right to communicate with the outside world, such as by receiving international delegations and interacting with human rights and media institutions.

Moreover, the prevention of MEP Hassan from entering the Occupied Palestinian Territory is evidence of the Israeli government’s systematic policy of targeting and persecuting Palestinians in the diaspora by denying them the right to return to their homeland and imposing arbitrary restrictions on their ability to meet with their families. This is part of a larger Israeli strategy to isolate the Palestinians from their cultural roots and national identity, destroy their historical relationship with their land, and prevent the maintenance or establishment of any connection between displaced Palestinians and future generations and their homeland.

Given that MEP Boylan was planning to conduct tasks that are crucial to her job, such as meeting with representatives of civil society, Palestinian Authority officials, and Palestinian civilians affected by the Israeli occupation, the Israeli decision will inevitably make it more difficult for the two European MEPs to do their duties.

The European Union’s hesitant and frequently complicit stance towards Israeli crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the genocide in the Gaza Strip for over 15 months, has not only shielded Israel from accountability but also encouraged it to intensify its repressive tactics to include EU citizens. By directly exploiting European silence, Israel is able to uphold its system of egregious oppression and illegally punish all those who oppose Israeli occupation and violations against Palestinians.

The two European MEPs were banned after the Israeli Knesset approved an amendment to the “Entry into Israel Law” on 19 February. The amendment forbids granting entry visas to anyone who denies the Holocaust or the 7 October attacks, or who supports the prosecution of Israelis based on their military service or security.

The new amendment enshrines an arbitrary, discriminatory policy that violates Palestinian rights as well as international law. It also lacks independent mechanisms for review and appeal, and is clearly a tool to punish human rights defenders, silence critics of Israel, and further exclude Palestinians from the international protection system.

Besides monopolising access to information to control the narrative, and ignoring or distorting facts that do not serve its interests, Israel’s policy of prohibiting or restricting the entry of independent individuals and entities concerned with human rights, relief efforts, and unbiased journalism into its territory affects the most vulnerable victims of its crimes more than anyone else. This policy primarily undermines humanitarian relief operations and the work of independent fact-finding and investigation committees concerned with interviewing victims and documenting violations.

Since the European Union is Israel’s biggest trading partner and accounts for roughly 29% of its goods trade, the Union has purposefully avoided using any of its pressure tools against Israel. Powerful EU nations like Germany have also persisted in sending sizable shipments of weapons to Israel in spite of knowing that they would be used in the genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Israel is an illegal occupying power with no legal authority to impose sovereignty or regulate anyone’s access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Therefore, the international community must act swiftly to force Israel to lift its illegal blockade on the Occupied Palestinian Territory—particularly the Gaza Strip—and to stop the arbitrary and illegal restrictions placed on the ability of individuals and organisations to travel there.

It is critical to end Israel’s policies of blackouts and refusals to cooperate in order, as these are plain attempts to isolate the Occupied Palestinian Territory and thwart any independent international oversight of Israeli violations. There is no question that the prohibitions placed on journalists, human rights advocates, and humanitarian organisations are intended to ensure the Palestinian population does not benefit from international protection mechanisms, plus prevent the documentation of Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

The European Union must end its pointless cycle of denunciation followed by inaction, and apply serious pressure on Israel to cease its flagrant transgressions of the EU’s partnership principles. The EU itself must also be compelled to halt all import and export activities involving weapons and technologies that Israel uses to perpetrate crimes against the Palestinian people.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor

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