Palestinian Authority: IOF Jenin raid 'organized crime and a massacre'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen Net + Agencies
26 Jan 2023 12:54
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The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces' aggression against the Jenin camp in the northern West Bank, and calls for international action to stop the Israeli escalation.

The Palestinian Authority and Foreign Ministry respond to the IOF raid of Jenin (Archive)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Israeli aggression against the Jenin camp is an "organized crime and a massacre" against the Palestinian people.

Abbas further urged the international community to intervene to stop this aggression.

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli Occupation Forces' (IOF) incursion into the Jenin camp north of the West Bank and called on the international community to stop the Israeli escalation against the Palestinians.

The MFA also pointed out that "the bloody and barbaric storming of the occupation forces has left five martyrs so far and several injuries among citizens."

Moreover, "the occupation has disregarded humanitarian values and principles, besieging the camp, closing all its entrances, and firing live bullets with the aim of extrajudicial killings, and in cold blood."

The statement also indicated that the occupation prevented medical staff and ambulances from reaching the wounded, leaving them to bleed to death while on the ground and attacking Jenin Hospital with gas bombs.

The Palestinian MFA insisted to emphasize that "If the international community and the American administration do not move now, in light of these brutal scenes and crimes committed by the occupying forces, then when can it move to triumph over its principles and positions and preserve what remains of its credibility?"

IOF raids Jenin using force the camp has not seen in years

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided the Jenin camp in Occupied Palestine's West Bank early on Thursday morning, leaving residents and popular resistance groups with no choice but to defend themselves and confront the occupation forces.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health indicated that so far, five Palestinians have been martyred, 13 injured, including three in serious condition, and noted that the martyrs that succumbed to their wounds at the emergency department were Majida Obeid, Abdullah Marwan Al-Ghoul, and Muhammad Sadiq Jarrar.

Including the five martyrs, the number of martyrs in Jenin camp since the beginning of 2023 has risen to 13.

Moreover, the Palestinian Ministry of Health noted that a Palestinian woman arrived at Ibn Sina Hospital, in Jenin, with a live bullet wound in her femoral artery, adding that she was in a critical condition.

The Ministry of Health also reported instances of suffocation among patients, including children, inside Jenin Governmental Hospital because the occupation forces fired gas canisters toward the hospital.

It is also worth noting that as part of the raid launched against Palestinians, the IOF prevented ambulance crews from entering the region. That said, there have been multiple reports of Palestinians targeted with live fire, but the number of martyrs and wounded remains unclear because emergency crews are facing life-threatening challenges.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the situation in the Jenin camp is critical, noting that "the Red Crescent informed us of the difficulty of rescuing and evacuating many of the injured."

In turn, the Israeli media reported that "the military operation in Jenin was launched after intelligence from the Shin Bet about the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement's intention to carry out a major operation against Israeli targets, and the operation aimed to arrest a prominent member of the movement."