Israeli anti-militant operation in West Bank leaves Palestinian refugee camp in shambles

Amna Nawaz:

After two days of intense combat, Palestinians today left their homes to find the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank in shambles.

Israel's military operation that it says targeted militants laid waste to vast swathes of the camp. Twelve Palestinians were killed, including nine that militant groups claimed as their fighters. One Israeli soldier was also killed.

Special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen was there late today for us, and she joins me now from Jerusalem.

Leila, welcome, and thanks for joining us.

You went to that Jenin refugee camp today. What can you tell us about the latest on the ground and what residents there told you?

Leila Molana-Allen:

I did.

And on the drive to the camp, there were Israeli Defense Forces snipers positioned along the road. It was clear things were still very tense. And driving on, you could see the burnt remnants of roadblocks that had been made by protesters the last few days to try and block off the Israeli Defense Forces from coming further into the camp.

Once we got there, we were told we had to be very careful going in because they had been using improvised explosive devices, militants inside, and they laid those out. And they were still trying to clear them to make sure it was safe. These were civilians trying to clear the streets.

Once inside, really, there's huge destruction in the center of the camp. You're walking along, and, suddenly, it changes from tarmac to just sand. And you realize that's because the piles of rubble on the street aren't from buildings. They are the entire road having been bulldozed up.

Now, these are Defense Forces say that was because they were looking for explosive devices. People there say they feel it was just punitive, destroying their streets, because they'd come in and they couldn't find what they were looking for.

Amna Nawaz:

Leila, we heard from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today speaking about that operation.

Here is just a part of what he had to say.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister:

This is just the first step. It's not the — by no means, the last action that we will take.

We will do what we can from the ground, from the air with superb intelligence. We will do what we can fight the terrorists. They shall have no safe haven.

Amna Nawaz:

So, Leila, what more do we know about what exactly the Israel Defense Forces were trying to achieve with this operation?

Leila Molana-Allen:

Well, there was a question over why right now, why this attack on Jenin camp right now.

And there has been a huge increase in violence this year, more than 150 Palestinians dead in violence, 25 Israelis. That's a big uptick. And Prime Minister Netanyahu does need to appease the ultraright in his coalition government, who really want him to take strong action, and also the Israeli public, who feel they want to feel protected by their government.

So that's an argument why right now. Now, originally, the IDF said going in they were looking for suspected shooters who had been trying to stage attacks against the Israeli public and then had gone and hidden Jenin camp. Those people were not found. They had been warned by people inside the camp that the operation was coming. They were long gone.

But these 12 people who did die, difficult to tell. The Israelis say they were militants. Locals at the camp say they were civilians. In a place where young men often say they feel they have to take up arms to protect their homes from constant military incursions by the Israeli military, difficult really to tell who they were, but certainly not the high-level people they were looking for.

Now, the IDF did put out a statement saying that they had found a huge cache of things while looking. They'd found over 1,000 weapons. They'd found guns. They'd found explosive devices. They had broken down operations rooms they believe were being used for terrorism. So they are saying that it has been extremely successful, this raid.

It's worth bearing in mind that this was a huge military operation for a very small place with several thousand people living there. They put in 1,000 elite troops on the ground. They used 15 helicopter gunships against people in a tightly packed refugee camp, using airstrikes, using shelling, using drones.

So, really, to attack people in that sort of tightly compacted space, where there are lots of women and children, incredibly difficult to isolate exactly who you're attacking and exactly who you're trying to avoid. Now, they feel that was successful. There have been lots of criticisms from international organizations that it was far too much military use against so many civilians, as I say.

Amna Nawaz:

Of course, all of this has raised concerns about escalating violence, even further retaliation maybe for this military operation, Leila.

The big question is, what happens now?

Leila Molana-Allen:

Thus far, the IDF said this is the end of this particular operation. And, today, as I said, people were focusing on trying to get back into their homes and rebuild them — rebuild them.

But there is a huge amount of anger, and it's really simmering, and Palestinians now feeling they have no representation because they believe the Palestinian Authority, which does govern in these areas, just isn't doing anything for them, and is almost complicit in working with the Israeli authorities.

So, moving forward, very difficult to say whether or not there will be more violence, particularly as we're seeing even more settlements which are seen as internationally illegal being established in the area around Jenin. This could lead to a lot more tensions.

Amna Nawaz:

That is special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen joining us tonight from Jerusalem.

Leila, thank you. Good to see you.

Leila Molana-Allen:

Thank you.