Operation Defensive Shield
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Operation "Defensive Shield" ( he, מִבְצָע חוֹמַת מָגֵן, ''Mivtza Homat Magen'', literally "Operation Shield Wall") was a large-scale military operation conducted by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
in 2002 during the
Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
. It was the largest military operation in the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
since the 1967
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
. The stated goal of the operation was to stop terrorist attacks. The operation was a direct response to the
Passover massacre The Passover massacre was a suicide bombing carried out by Hamas at the Park Hotel in Netanya, Israel on 27 March 2002, during a Passover seder. Thirty civilians were killed in the attack and 140 were injured. It was the deadliest attack a ...
on March 27 at the Park Hotel in the Israeli resort city of
Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
when a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 30 vacationers. Operation Defensive Shield began on March 29, 2002, with an incursion into
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
placing
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
under siege in his Ramallah compound, followed by incursions into the six largest cities in the West Bank, and their surrounding localities. The Israel Defense Forces invaded
Tulkarm Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of N ...
and
Qalqilya Qalqilya or Qalqiliya ( ar, قلقيلية, Qalqīlyaḧ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate of the State of Palestine. In the 2007 census, the city had a population of 41, ...
on April 1,
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
the next day,
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...
and
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
the next. From April 3–21, the period was characterized by strict curfews on civilian populations and restrictions of movement of international personnel, including at times prohibition of entry to humanitarian and medical personnel as well as human rights monitors and journalists.'Report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/10 (Report on Jenin)'
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, 30 Jul 2002
In May 2002, the Israeli troops had pulled out of the Palestinian cities, but maintained cordons of troops around West Bank towns and villages, and continued carrying out raids on Palestinian areas. The UN report on the subject says, "Combatants on both sides conducted themselves in ways that, at times, placed civilians in harm's way. Much of the fighting during Operation Defensive Shield occurred in areas heavily populated by civilians and in many cases heavy weaponry was used."


Background

The
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
escalated during the
Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
. In January and February 2002, 71 people were killed on all sides during attacks from Palestinian terrorists and the Israeli army. March and April 2002 saw a dramatic increase in attacks against Israelis by Palestinian militants such as
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
, Islamic Jihad and the
Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
-affiliated
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...
.''Report of the Secretary-General prepared pursuant to General Assembly resolution ES-10/10''
August 1, 2002.
In addition to numerous shooting and grenade attacks, fifteen suicide bombings were carried out in March, an average of one suicide bombing every two days. March 2002 became known in Israel as "Black March". The large number of attacks severely disrupted daily life in Israel. The first wave of Israeli incursions took place between 27 February and 14 March. Following nine attacks by Palestinian militants between March 2–5, the Israeli cabinet decided to massively expand its military activity against these groups. On March 5, while talking with reporters in the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
cafeteria, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, pointing to the bloodiest week against Israelis since the start of the
Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...
, explained the cabinet's decision: "The Palestinians must be hit, and it must be very painful. ... We must cause them losses, victims, so that they feel a heavy price." Palestinian attacks continued, with suicide bombings on 9 March (see
Café Moment bombing The Café Moment bombing was a Palestinian suicide bombing of a coffee shop in downtown Jerusalem, Israel that killed 11 Israeli civilians and left 54 others wounded. It was carried out on March 9, 2002, during the Second Intifada. The atta ...
), 20 March, and 21 March. Shooting and grenade attacks also continued to occur in Israel and
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s. On 27 March, a suicide attack occurred in
Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, where 30 people were killed in the Park Hotel while celebrating
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
. The event became known as the
Passover massacre The Passover massacre was a suicide bombing carried out by Hamas at the Park Hotel in Netanya, Israel on 27 March 2002, during a Passover seder. Thirty civilians were killed in the attack and 140 were injured. It was the deadliest attack a ...
. The following day, a Palestinian gunman infiltrated the Israeli settlement of
Elon Moreh Elon Moreh ( he, אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה) is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located northeast of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus, on the slopes of the Mount Kabir ridge, it falls u ...
and killed four members of the same family. On March 29, the Israeli government announced Operation "Defensive Shield", terming it a large-scale
counter-terrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
offensive. The
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
(IDF) issued emergency call-up notices for 30,000 reserve soldiers, the largest call-up since the
1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...
. The same day, two Israelis were stabbed in the Gaza settlement of
Netzarim Netzarim ( he, נְצָרִים) was an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip about 5 kilometers southwest of Gaza City. It was established in 1972. In August 2005, the inhabitants of Netzarim were evicted by the Israel Defense Forces as part o ...
. Two suicide bombings occurred the next day, and another one took place the day after that. Overall, in March 2002, some 130 Israelis including approximately 100 noncombatants were killed in Palestinian attacks, while a total of 238 Palestinians including at least 83 noncombatants were killed in the same month by the IDF.


Stated goals

The stated goals of the operation (as conveyed to the Israeli
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
by Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
on April 8, 2002) were "to catch and arrest terrorists and, primarily, their dispatchers and those who finance and support them; to confiscate weapons intended to be used against Israeli citizens; to expose and destroy facilities and explosives, laboratories, weapons production factories and secret installations. The orders are clear: target and paralyze anyone who takes up weapons and tries to oppose our troops, resists them or endangers them—and to avoid harming the civilian population." IDF officers also noted that incursions would force Palestinian militants "to exert their energy by defending their homes in the camps instead of by plotting attacks on Israelis." The Palestinian attachment to the UN report on Operation "Defensive Shield" challenged the validity of the Israeli claim that it was targeting "terrorists," noting that, " ..nbsp;the record shows clearly that the nature of the actions taken, the amount of harm inflicted on the population and the practical results prove completely different political goals  ..the Israeli occupying forces have consistently targeted the Palestinian police and security forces, instead of 'terrorists', and have consistently tried to destroy the Palestinian Authority and declared it an 'enemy', instead of groups hostile to peace in the Middle East."


Operation

Operation "Defensive Shield" was announced on March 29, but it is widely assumed preparations began nearly a month before. In early April, the IDF was conducting major military operations inside all Palestinian cities, but the majority of the fighting centered on
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
,
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...
,
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, and
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
. Over 20,000 Israeli reservists were activated during the conflict.


Jenin

According to Israeli authorities, Jenin became a central base for terror groups and terror attacks mounted by several organizations, including
Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist par ...
,
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...
, and
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
. The IDF spokesman attributed 23 of the 60 suicide bombers that attacked Israel in 2002 to Palestinians from Jenin. On April 2, more than 1,000 IDF soldiers entered the camp, calling civilians and non-combatants to leave. An estimated 13,000 Palestinians were housed in Jenin prior to the operation. The operation was led by the 5th Infantry Brigade, which had not yet been trained in
close-quarters combat Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a tactical situation that involves a physical fight with firearms involved between multiple combatants at short range. It can occur between military units, police/corrections officers ...
. During a series of sweeps, the Israeli military claimed the entire camp was booby-trapped. At least 2,000 bombs and booby traps were planted throughout the camp. In response to the discovery, the Israelis dispatched combat bulldozers to detonate any bombs that were placed in the streets. Israeli commanders were still not confident that soldiers would be safe from booby traps and
IEDs An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...
. A rapid ground attack would clearly be costly in IDF lives, but political pressure from the United States and elsewhere required a rapid end to the fighting. Former defense minister
Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 L ...
promised combat-operations would be over by April 6, but that was clearly impossible. The IDF slowly advanced into the city, encountering fierce resistance. Most of the fighting was conducted by infantry fighting house-to-house, while armored bulldozers were used to clear away booby traps and IEDs. Air support was limited to helicopter gunships firing wire-guided missiles. Palestinian commander
Mahmoud Tawalbe Mahmoud Tawalbe ( ar, محمود طوالبة; c. 1979 - 2002) was the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jenin, one of the main strongholds of the terrorist organization. Tawalbe was involved in many attacks against Israelis but he was b ...
was killed during the battle. According to a British military expert, he was killed by an Israeli bulldozer, while the Palestinians claimed that blew himself up to collapse a house on Israeli soldiers. On the third day of operations, an IDF unit accidentally wandered into a Palestinian ambush. Thirteen Israeli soldiers were killed and three of the bodies were captured before a
Shayetet 13 Shayetet 13 ( he, שייטת 13, lit. ''Flotilla 13'') is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret ''(reconnaissance)'' units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, s ...
naval commando unit could retrieve them. After the ambush, the Israeli military developed a tactic that allowed units to advance farther and more safely into the camps. Israeli commanders would send an armored bulldozer to ram the corner of a house, creating a hole. An
IDF Achzarit The Achzarit ( in Hebrew: "cruel", female inflection) is a heavily armored personnel carrier manufactured by the Israeli Defence Forces Corps of Ordnance. History The Achzarit is based on the Soviet-built T-54/T-55 tank, beginning with those ...
would then enter the hole, allowing troops to clear the house without going through booby-trapped doors. Palestinian resistance was halted following the adoption of the bulldozer method, and most residents of the Hawashin neighborhood surrendered before it was leveled. Palestinian commander Hazem Qabha refused to surrender and was killed. Throughout the Battle of Jenin, and for a few days afterwards, the city and its refugee camp were under total closure. There was much concern at the time about possible human rights violations occurring in the camp. Allegations of a massacre in Jenin were spread by Palestinians in order to create pressure on Israel to halt the operation. Claims of complete destruction of the Jenin refugee camp, a massacre of 500 civilians, and mass graves being dug by Israeli soldiers were proven false after a United Nations investigation. Reports of a large-scale massacre were found to be untrue, a result of confusion resulting from the Israeli refusal to allow entry to outside observers, and/or Palestinian
media manipulation Media manipulation is a series of related techniques in which partisans create an image or argument that favors their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of logical fallacies, manipulation, outright deception (disinformation) ...
. Ultimately, the Jenin incursion resulted in the deaths of 52 Palestinians. According to Israel, five were civilians and the rest were militants.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
reported that 27 militants and 22 civilians, as well as three unidentified persons, had been killed, based mostly on witness interviews. Israeli losses totalled 23 soldiers killed and 75 wounded.


Nablus

The IDF launched an incursion
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
with two regular infantry brigades and one reserve armored brigade. The city was estimated to have held over 8,000 Palestinian militants, in addition to Palestinian security forces. Israeli forces quickly occupied most of the city. Clashes took place around refugee camps, and Israeli attack helicopters fired rockets at Palestinian positions in the main square and neighboring streets. The main attack focused on the Nablus Casbah. The
Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת גּוֹלָנִי) is an Israeli military infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigade ...
entered the Casbah, engaging the Palestinians in heavy street combat and using armored bulldozers and
Achzarit The Achzarit ( in Hebrew: "cruel", female inflection) is a heavily armored personnel carrier manufactured by the Israeli Defence Forces Corps of Ordnance. History The Achzarit is based on the Soviet-built T-54/T-55 tank, beginning with those ...
APCs to clear away barricades. Many militants withdrew to the western part of the city, where they were attacked by the
Paratroopers Brigade The 35th Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת הַצַּנְחָנִים, ''Hativat HaTzanhanim''), also known as the Paratroopers Brigade, is an infantry brigade unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and forms a major part of ...
. Troops gradually moved into the city by destroying walls within houses to get into the next house (known as
mouse-holing Mouse-holing is a tactic used in urban warfare in which soldiers create access to adjoining rooms or buildings by blasting or tunneling through a wall. The tactic is used to avoid open streets since advancing infantry, caught in enfilade, are ea ...
/ Rhizome Manoeuvre), in order to avoid booby-trapped doors and road-side bombs. The paratroopers advanced by sending several small units to take over houses at the same time and confuse the Palestinians, and relied heavily on
sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
units. Palestinian militants often exposed their positions by firing at Israeli forces in another direction. During the battle over 70 Palestinian militants were killed, while the IDF lost one officer to friendly fire. The Palestinians surrendered on April 8. Nablus was placed under curfew on April 4, as the battle was beginning. The city remained under curfew until April 22. During the operation, the IDF arrested over 100 Palestinians and discovered several explosives laboratories. High-ranking wanted persons fled east to
Tubas A tuba is a musical instrument that plays notes in the bass clef. Tuba can also refer to: Instruments *Roman tuba, a straight trumpet of ancient Rome *Tuba curva, a revival of the Roman ''cornu'' *Wagner tuba, an instrument like the tuba curva ...
, and were arrested a week later.


Bethlehem

IDF forces including the Jerusalemite Reserve Infantry Brigade entered Jerusalem with infantry, warplanes, and tanks while a special forces
Shaldag Unit Unit 5101, more commonly known as Shaldag ( he, שלדג, ''Kingfisher''), is an elite Israeli Air Force (IAF) special forces unit and one of the main Israeli special forces units. The unit is part of the Special Air Forces Wing (Wing 7) in the IAF ...
targeted the Church of the Nativity to deny it to the people of Bethlehem as a place of refuge as it had been in the past. In response to the IDF offensive hundreds of Bethelemites including Bethlehem's Governor sought refuge in the church, the helicopters of the Shaldag unit arriving half an hour too late. On April 3 the IDF laid siege to the church surrounding it with an elite paratrooper brigade specializing in sniper operations who used tactics including carrying out simulated attacks. The Vatican's top foreign policy expert Archbishop Jean-Louis Taura stated that while the Palestinians have joined the Vatican in bilateral agreements where they have undertaken to respect and maintain the status quo regarding Christian holy places and the rights of Christian communities, "to explain the gravity of the current situation, let me begin with the fact that the occupation of the holy places by armed men is a violation of a long tradition of law that dates back to the Ottoman era. Never before have they been occupied – for such a lengthy time – by armed men." For five weeks the Israelis held the city and church under curfew, with periodic breaks, continuing the siege on the church. Israeli snipers were given orders to shoot anyone in the church carrying a gun on sight, seriously wounding an Armenian monk who the IDF said looked armed, and killing the mentally impaired church bell-ringer who was shot as he left to ring the bells as he had done for 3 decades. He was left to die, bleeding in the square for hours. Six other men were killed by the IDF during the siege. On March 10 the siege ended, with a deal seeing some militants deported to the Gaza Strip, and the rest exiled to Cyprus.


Ramallah

IDF infantry and armor entered
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...
on 29 March and entered the
Mukataa :''See ''Muqata'ah'' for the Ottoman instrument for financing state expenses. '' :''This article deals mainly with the Mukataa of Ramallah.'' Mukataʿa ( ar, المقاطعة al-muqāṭaʿah) is an Arabic word for headquarters or administrative ...
, Yasser Arafat's presidential compound. The Israelis forced their way through the compound's perimeter and quickly occupied it. Arafat was given refuge in a few of the compound's rooms, along assorted advisors, security personnel and journalists. In an effort to isolate Arafat physically and diplomatically, access to the compound was restricted, and Arafat was not allowed to leave. The IDF occupied the city after several hours of street fighting in which some 30 Palestinians were killed. Ramallah was then placed under a tight curfew as soldiers conducted searches and made arrests. The IDF arrested more than 700 people, among them
Marwan Barghouti Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti (also transliterated al-Barghuthi; ar, مروان حسيب ابراهيم البرغوثي; born 6 June 1959) is a Palestinian political figure convicted and imprisoned for murder by an Israeli court. He is regar ...
, a top Palestinian militant leader suspected of directing numerous suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis. Barghouti was later tried in Israel and sentenced to life imprisonment. The day after Marwan Barghouti's arrest, Taleb Barghouti was arrested. On April 2, Israeli tanks and APCs surrounded the headquarters of the
Preventive Security Force The Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS) (Arabic: الأمن الوقائي; Al-'amn al-wiqa'i), also known as Preventive Security Force (PSF), Preventive Security Service (PSS) is one of the security apparatus of the State of Palestine. It was ...
in nearby
Beitunia Beitunia ( ar, بيتونيا), also Bitunya, is a Palestinian city located west of Ramallah and north of Jerusalem. The city is in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of ...
as Israeli helicopter gunships flew overhead. Hundreds of heavily armed police officers and prisoners wanted by Israel were inside. Israeli troops used loudspeakers to announce that the compound's four buildings were to be destroyed and demand that everyone inside step out. Hundreds of police officers and fugitives emerged from the compound and surrendered to the Israeli army, and the facility was damaged by rockets. The Israelis extensively searched the facility and uncovered numerous incriminating documents, including a plan to recruit female Israeli soldiers as spies. Weapons stolen from the IDF were also discovered. The Israelis forced the hundreds of policemen and fugitives who surrendered to strip naked, fearing that some were armed or packed with explosives. They were then given jumpsuits, loaded onto buses and taken to Ofer Prison.
Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...
asked
Jibril Rajoub Jibril Mahmoud Muhammad Rajoub ( ar, جبريل رجوب, born 14 May 1953), also known by his kunya Abu Rami, is a Palestinian political leader, legislator, and former militant. He leads the Palestinian Football Association and the Palestine Ol ...
, head of the Preventive Security Force, to point out which men were police officers and which were fugitives. Rajoub instead identified his policemen as fugitives and the fugitives as policemen, and the fugitives were all released. Shin Bet retaliated by releasing an official account that branded Rajoub as a traitor for turning over the fugitives in a
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
-brokered deal, costing Rajoub his job. The UN report on the subject noted: "It was not only the Palestinian people whose movement was restricted during Operation "Defensive Shield". In many instances, humanitarian workers were not able to reach people in need to assess conditions and deliver necessary assistance because of the sealing of cities, refugee camps and villages during the operation. There were also cases of Israeli forces not respecting the neutrality of medical and humanitarian workers and attacking ambulances." In reply to these complaints, the IDF stated that the curfew was placed in order to prevent civilians from being caught in gunfights and getting hurt. Palestinian ambulances were stopped for checks following the discovery of an
explosive belt An explosive belt (also called suicide belt or a suicide vest) is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers. Explosive belts are usually packed with ball bearings, ...
in a
Red Crescent The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
.


Tulkarm

IDF Reserve Paratroop Battalion 55 entered
Tulkarm Tulkarm, Tulkarem or Tull Keram ( ar, طولكرم, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located in the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian cities of N ...
with armored support. Palestinian militants abandoned their weapons and melted into the local population, and nine were killed by the IDF. A
Tegart fort A Tegart fort is a type of militarized police fort constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period, initiated as a measure against the 1936–1939 Arab Revolt. Etymology The forts are named after their designer, British p ...
that had served as their headquarters was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. The IDF also raided nearby villages, arresting hundreds of wanted men.


Hebron

On April 4, gendarmes from an
Israel Border Police The Israel Border Police ( he, מִשְׁמַר הַגְּבוּל, Mišmar Ha-Gvul) is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (), meaning border gua ...
undercover unit surrounded a house in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
where a member of the
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...
who supplied weapons to militants was holed up, along with his brother. The gendarmes demanded that the two men surrender. Shots were fired at the troops, killing one of the gendarmes. After a gun battle lasting several hours, troops stormed the house, discovering the suspect's wounded brother. The arms merchant was found to have fled.


European Union reaction

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
Foreign Minister
Josep Piqué Josep Piqué i Camps (born 21 February 1955 in Vilanova i la Geltrú) is a Spanish politician of the right-leaning Spanish People's Party (PP) who represented Barcelona. Pique was initially a member of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSU ...
, whose country held the EU Presidency, said that "sanctions against Israel are a possible scenario", and that EU states were discussing the possibility, with some reluctant and others wanting to impose sanctions.
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
Foreign Minister
Louis Michel Louis Michel (born 2 September 1947) is a Belgian politician. He served in the government of Belgium as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004 and was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid from 2004 to 2009. From 20 ...
also said that the EU could rethink its trade relations with Israel. The
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
passed a non-binding resolution calling for economic sanctions on Israel, an arms embargo on both parties, and for the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
to "suspend immediately" its trade and cooperation agreement with Israel. It condemned the "military escalation pursued by the Sharon government" and the "oppression of the Palestinian civilian population by the Israeli army", while also condemning suicide bombings. According to
Yediot Aharonot ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
, Israel's refusal to allow Spanish EU officials
Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-dem ...
and Josep Piqué into the
Mukataa :''See ''Muqata'ah'' for the Ottoman instrument for financing state expenses. '' :''This article deals mainly with the Mukataa of Ramallah.'' Mukataʿa ( ar, المقاطعة al-muqāṭaʿah) is an Arabic word for headquarters or administrative ...
to meet with
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
, while allowing American envoy
Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...
to enter, was the "straw that broke the camel's back". The resolution was passed by a vote of 269 to 208, with 22 abstentions.


Casualties

During the fighting, 30 Israeli soldiers were killed and 127 were wounded, while 497 Palestinians were killed and 1,447 were wounded according to a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
investigation. However,
B'Tselem B'Tselem ( he, בצלם, , " in the image of od) is a Jerusalem-based non-profit organization whose stated goals are to document human rights violations in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, combat any denial of the existence of su ...
only registered 240 Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank during the period in which the operation took place.List of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank
(''see the 29.03.2002-3.05.2002 period'')
Approximately 7,000 Palestinians were detained by Israel including 396 wanted suspects. The
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
estimated that over $361 million worth of damage was caused to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions, $158 million of which came from the aerial bombardment and destruction of houses in
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
and
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...
.


Strategic outcome

The effects of Operation "Defensive Shield", as recorded by the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, were an initial drop in half (46 percent) in the number of suicide bombingsfrom 22 in February–March to 12 in April–Mayand a 70 percent drop in executed attacks between the first half of 2002 and the second half (43 January–June, 13 July–December). While 2003 had a total of 25 executed suicide bombings in comparison to 56 in 2002, the main difference was the number of attacks which did not come to realization (184) either due to Israeli interception or problems in the execution. 2003 also saw a 35 percent drop in the number of fatalities from 220 deaths in 2002 to 142 deaths resulting from suicide bombings. Beverly Milton-Edwards, Professor of Politics at Queen's University in Belfast, writes that while aspects of Palestinian terrorism were reduced after the operation, Israel's objective of ending the Al-Aqsa Intifada remained unmet. Israeli destruction of institutions belonging to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the "emasculation" of the PA and its President,
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
, opened a vacuum in the social and welfare system that was rapidly filled by the
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
, whose popularity grew. Milton-Edwards concludes that, "The unequivocal victory ought by Israeleventually remained elusive and the Israelis and Palestinians resumed a variety of forms of low intensity warfare with each other."Milton-Edwards, 2008
p. 157-158
/ref>


Fact-finding and criticism


UN fact-finding mission

A UN fact-finding mission was established under UN Security Council Resolution 1405 (April 19, 2002) into Operation "Defensive Shield" following Palestinian charges that a massacre had occurred in Jenin, which later proved to be false. In its attachment to the UN report the Palestinian Authority decried Israel's "culture of impunity" and called for "an international presence to monitor compliance with international humanitarian law, to help in providing protection to Palestinian civilians and to help the parties to implement agreements reached." A report of the European Union attached in the report stated, "The massive destruction, especially at the centre of the refugee camp, to which all heads of mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah can testify, shows that the site had undergone an indiscriminate use of force, that goes well beyond that of a battlefield." The report states that there were numerous reports of the IDF using Palestinians as
human shield A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...
s. Israel denied the allegations.''Report of Secretary-General on recent events in Jenin, other Palestinian cities''
Press Release. UN, 1 August 2002 (doc.nr. SG2077)


Human rights groups

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
determined that "Israeli forces committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, some amounting prima facie to war crimes."
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
reported that war crimes occurred in the
Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...
refugee camp and in
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, including: unlawful killings; a failure to ensure medical or humanitarian relief; demolition of houses and property occurred (sometime with civilians still inside); water and electricity supplies to civilians were cut; torture or other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention ...
in arbitrary detention occurred; and Palestinians civilians were used for military operations or as "human shields." According to Amnesty, "the IDF acted as though the main aim was to punish all Palestinians."


Destruction of Palestinian Authority property

The UN report noted that "United Nations agencies and other international agencies, when allowed into Ramallah and other Palestinian cities, documented extensive physical damage to Palestinian Authority civilian property. That damage included the destruction of office equipment, such as computers and photocopying machines, that did not appear to be related to military objectives. While denying that such destruction was systematic, the Israeli Defence Forces have admitted that their personnel engaged in some acts of vandalism, and are carrying out some related prosecutions."
Cheryl Rubenberg Cheryl A. Rubenberg (January 3, 1946 – 16 June 2017)Valerie J. Hoffman,Cheryl A. Rubenberg 1946–2017Review of Middle East Studies, Volume 52, Issue 1 April 2018 , pp. 170-172 was a writer and researcher specializing in the Middle East, formerl ...
writes that data and records held by Palestinian civilian institutions were systematically destroyed by the IDF; among the institutions affected were the
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS; ar, الجهاز المركزي للإحصاء الفلسطيني) is the official statistical institution of the State of Palestine. Its main task is to provide credible statistical figures a ...
(PCBS), the Palestinian Authority's Ministries of Culture, Education and Health, and the Palestine International Bank.Cheryl Rubenberg
''The Palestinians–In Search of a Just Peace''
pp. 351-352. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003

. University of Pittsburgh, 16 January 2003
Amira Hass Amira Hass ( he, עמירה הס; born 28 June 1956) is an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper ''Haaretz'' covering Palestinian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza, where she has lived for almost th ...
, an Israeli reporter for
Ha'aretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
, criticized the IDF for targeting computer files and printed records, dubbing the offensive "Operation Destroy the Data". She wrote that ''"this was not a mission to search and destroy the terrorist infrastructure ... There was a decision made to vandalize the civic, administrative, cultural infrastructure developed by Palestinian society"''.


Destruction of non-governmental property

Large-scale destruction was reported of properties of NGOs, media, universities, cultural centers, and other institutions. Complete libraries and archives, including video and music archives, as well as equipment were looted, vandalized and destroyed. Also demolition of shops and a religious compound were reported.


Jenin massacre allegations

A great deal of the media attention to Operation "Defensive Shield" centered around Palestinians claims of a large-scale massacre in Jenin. Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat was widely quoted by the press as saying there were 500 massacred Palestinians in the Israeli assault on Jenin. Human Rights Watch found no evidence to sustain claims of massacres or large-scale extrajudicial executions by the IDF in Jenin refugee camp. However, many of the civilian deaths documented amounted to unlawful or willful killings by the IDF according to Human Rights Watch. Many others could have been avoided if the IDF had taken proper precautions to protect civilian life during its military operation, as required by international humanitarian law. Among the civilian deaths were those of Kamal Zgheir, a 57-year-old man who was shot and run over by a tank on a major road outside the camp on April 10, even though he had a white flag attached to his wheelchair; fifty-eight-year-old Mariam Wishahi, killed by a missile in her home on April 6 just hours after her unarmed son was shot in the street; Jamal Fayid, a 37-year-old paralyzed man who was crushed in the rubble of his home on April 7 despite his family's pleas to be allowed to remove him; and fourteen-year-old Faris Zaiban, who was killed by fire from an IDF armored car as he went to buy groceries when the IDF-imposed curfew was temporarily lifted on April 11. Human Rights Watch stated that of at least 52 Palestinians were killed, at least 27 were suspected to have been armed Palestinian militants. Multiple deaths were also caused by refusal (whether enforced by militia groups or voluntary is disputed) of Palestinian families to leave their houses, of which specific bulldozers, clearing the way for operations, were not alerted of on a house-to-house basis (See Israel-Gaza war 2008-2009 for similar issues; where IDF warnings were continually issued that specific houses carrying munitions were to be targeted, with Hamas response of forcing families to remain inside their houses.) Initially Israel welcomed an investigation, announcing that it would cooperate fully with the Secretary General's fact-finding effort. According to the United Jewish Communities, Israel made a number of points regarding the team's methodology, in order to "safeguard the impartiality of its work." However, Israeli government receptivity to cooperating with the UN fact-finding mission decreased when the
Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...
,
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder ...
, did not appoint a predominantly technical team with specialized military and forensic expertise, but rather political-administrative figures without such specialized skills (including
Cornelio Sommaruga Cornelio Sommaruga (born December 29, 1932 in Rome) is a Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat who is best known for being President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 1987 to 1999. Today, he chairs the Geneva Internati ...
, controversial for previous "Red Swastika" remarks),''
Jewish World Review ''Jewish World Review'' is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday (except for legal holidays and holy days), which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who ta ...
'', 10 May 200
"Kofi's Choice: The U.N. secretary general gets entangled in l'Affaire Sommaruga"
/ref> and after Palestinian officials reduced the casualty toll in Jenin on May 1, 2002
Archived from Washington Times site; as retrieved fro

/ref> to be between 50 and 60 deaths while Israel maintained there were only seven or eight civilian casualties. The charges of a massacre which had sparked demands for a U.N. investigation, had now been dropped. Kofi Annan disbanded the UN fact-finding team in Jenin supposed to determine whether a massacre had taken place with the comment that " early the full cooperation of both sides was a precondition for this, as was a visit to the area itself to see the Jenin refugee camp at first hand and to gather information. This is why the Secretariat engaged in a thorough clarification process with the Israeli delegation." In 2002,
Mohammed Bakri Mohammad Bakri (born 1953; ar, محمد بكري, he, מוחמד בכרי) is a Palestinian actor and film director.Jenin, Jenin'', to portray "the Palestinian truth" about the "Battle of Jenin". In the documentary Bakri propagates that indeed a massacre of civilians occurred in Jenin. A French Jewish film maker,
Pierre Rehov Pierre Rehov is the pseudonym of a French–Israeli documentary filmmaker, director and novelist, most known for his movies about the Arab–Israeli conflict and Israeli–Palestinian conflict, its treatment in the media, and about terrorism. Re ...
, also directed a documentary on what happened in Jenin during "Defensive Shield". His film, ''
The Road to Jenin ''The Road to Jenin'' is a 2003 documentary directed by Pierre Rehov, a French-Algerian film director of Jewish descent, whose documentaries mostly deal with the Middle East conflict. ''The Road to Jenin'' was produced to counter the Palestinian ...
'', was produced to counter the claims of a massacre, and to counter the narrative of Mohammed Bakri.
CAMERA A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
made a review of the two documentary films. According to the review, Bakri has admitted to shortening his film by 25 min in the wake of criticism.


Reported first-hand allegations

David Rohde of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' on the April 16 reported: Stewart Bell of the ''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'' on the April 15 reported that
Ahmed Tibi Ahmad Tibi ( ar, أحمد الطيبي, , he, אַחְמָד טִיבִּי, , sometimes spelled Ahmed Tibi; born 19 December 1958) is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. The leader of the Ta'al party, he has served as a member of the Knesset s ...
, an Arab member of the Israeli
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
, said he had met hundreds of Palestinians displaced by what he termed the "massacre" in Jenin. According to Tibi, "Everyone has a tragedy, about executions they saw, about their whole family that was killed, about the most tangible concern -- where is my family?" Bell reported that Jenin's population recounted "vivid accounts" of fighting and homes being demolished but first-hand accounts of massacres was scarce. One such rumor was a grocery store owner near Jenin who spoke of seeing Israeli troops using a refrigerated truck to hold the bodies of massacred Palestinians, which he said was still parked on a nearby hill. He refused to elaborate out of fear from "collaborators." Bell reported that a National Post reporter inspected the truck and found that it contained apples and other food for the Israeli soldiers.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Passover suicide bombing at Park Hotel in Netanya
* Goldenberg, Doron
''State of Siege'' (israelbooks.com)
Gefen Publishing House, 2003. {{Israeli-Palestinian conflict , Timeline , state=expanded Conflicts in 2002 March 2002 events in Asia April 2002 events in Asia May 2002 events in Asia