Troops, tanks, drones, and bulldozers: this is what the Israeli army used in its recent raid of the Jenin refugee camp.
It’s the most intense military operation that Israel had in the West Bank in 20 years.
And it’s a dot in decades-long structural violence that only Israel can end.
Israel’s raids in the West Bank have intensified in 2023: I’ve been writing about them repeatedly, relying on the work of brave reporters and people engaged in citizen journalism.
These raids just don’t seem to stop.
And now, the Jenin refugee camp was attacked with a force that was only last seen twenty years ago.
We saw roads destroyed, drones flying, buildings bombed, and people teargassed and they ran from their homes.
Ten Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and over 100 injured.
I have to admit that for a moment, I caught myself thinking, “What’s there to say? It feels like everything’s been said before.” I’ve written and talked about apartheid, impunity, media silence, the erasure of the Palestinian people, and so many other concepts that are still so painfully relevant.
But the massacre in Jenin is an opportunity to once again go to the very core of what we’re seeing: structural violence – something Jenin has been in the middle of for decades.
In my episode, I ask:
What’s the immediate context of this raid?
What’s historically special about Jenin?
What questions should we ask, like why is there a refugee camp here?
Where does this violence start?
And who has the power to end it?
I talk about what International Law says about Israel’s actions and what would it mean for Israel to comply with it. In short, a lot of what Israel does – and has been doing for decades – would need to be dismantled, like its settlements, military checkpoints, a siege of Gaza, and its ban on Palestinian refugees to come back to their lands.
Toward the end, I also bring in a personal comment. It’s a response to an argument that I personally disagree with, but, if I engage in its logic, that’s what I would have to say – and it once again points to how vast the injustice that our Palestinian friends have to suffer under is.
Please listen to my episode and share it with the broader community.
Justina
PS. I’ve also filmed a quick video for you to share with the ones who might benefit from reading my piece:
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