The densely populated city of Jenin and refugee camp home to over 20,000 Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, has been under a military siege by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) since Monday, July 3, 2023. The recent raid, which includes missile and drone attacks and ground raids and operations including tanks, constitutes the largest Israeli incursion in two decades and since the 2nd intifada. To date, at least 12 have been killed and over a hundred injured and according to video footage journalists are being deliberately targeted and shot at, in an effort to prevent news coverage. Streets and infrastructure have been deliberately destroyed through use of bulldozers, impeding the movement of residents seeking safety as well as delivery of aid, while at the same time electricity and access to the internet has been cut off. This latest raid on Jenin builds on a year and half of regular military operations as well as growing settler violence, expansion of illegal settlements and general targeting and killing of Palestinian civilians.
Femena stands in solidarity with the city of Jenin and the Palestinian people, especially women and children, who suffer greatly in times of conflict. We call on the international community to fully investigate the deliberate targeting of civilians, journalists, hospitals and schools by IDF and the expansion of illegal settlements and violence against Palestinians which has intensified since the election of Netanyahu through support of the extreme right in Israel. The international community needs to finally hold the Israeli government accountable for its continued violation of the rights of Palestinians. This impunity and occupation must end.