Jenin

“They were warned by loudspeaker to get out of the house before I come, but I gave no one a chance. I didn’t wait. I didn’t give one blow, and wait for them to come out. I would just ram the house with full power, to bring it down as fast as possible. I wanted to get to the other houses. To get as many as possible. I didn’t give a damn about the Palestinians, but I didn’t just ruin with no reason. It was all under orders.”
Israeli Army bulldozer driver Moshe Nissim, recalling his work in the invasion of Jenin in 2002 (my emphasis).

The city of Jenin is located at the very most northern point of the West Bank, surrounded by lush green hills. It is home to around 20,000 refugees from the 1948 nakba (catastrophe) and the 1967 occupation of the West Bank.

In 2002 Israeli forces invaded Jenin and massacred 50 Palestinians, most of the victims were from the refugee camps.

"On 4 March, Dr. Khalil Suliman, director of the Red Crescent in Jenin, was killed by gunfire at an ambulance in which he was travelling on the way to evacuate wounded in the Jenin refugee camp. Two other members of the medical team who were with him the ambulance were wounded. IDF soldiers also fired at an ambulance, wounding two medics, that had come to treat the wounded in the first ambulance" - B'Tselem, Israeli human rights organisation

The photo above is of the ambulance Dr Khalil Suliman was driving when he was killed.

A picture of Dr. Khalil Suliman in the Red Crescent Hospital in Jenin.

A UN worker, Ian Hook, was also killed by an Israeli sniper during the 2002 invasion. A UK inquest in 2005 held at Ipswich Crown Court found that his death was 'deliberate'.

This horse stands at the entrance to the refugee camp in Jenin. It was made from parts of cars which were crushed by tanks during the invasion.

Today there are some positive developments in Jenin. One is the 'Freedom theatre' which provides opportunities for local people to take courses in acting, script writing and theater production. You can visit the theatre's website here.

This is a small local sweet factory which uses its profits to fund a community center in Jenin.