Jenin heading in ‘catastrophic direction,’ UNRWA warns

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that conditions in the historic refugee camp of Jenin are deteriorating amid Israel’s ruthless aggression in the occupied West Bank.

“The residents of this particular camp have endured the impossible,” UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told a media briefing on Tuesday.

She said Israeli explosives and bulldozers have destroyed dozens of houses and streets since January 21.

“Large parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces. It is estimated that 100 houses were destroyed or heavily damaged.”

The Israeli military also uses drones to bomb houses in the West Bank.

Regime forces chase Palestinian cars and restrict the people’s movement.

Touma further stated that the destruction of basic infrastructure had taken a toll on the education system.

“When it comes to UNRWA, 13 schools in the camp and the surrounding areas continue to be closed. That affected 5,000 kids in that area.”

UNRWA says it received no warning from the Israeli side prior to the detonation of its facilities.

Touma referred to a recent such action, on February 2, and said the detonation “was when children were supposed to go back to school.”

Israel has banned operations by UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territories. UNRWA’s contact with the regime’s authorities has also been prohibited since January 30.

Elsewhere in her remarks, Touma said UNRWA's services inside Jenin have come to a full stop in early December.

Palestinian Authority condemns Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' in West Bank

The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned an ongoing Israeli assault across the occupied West Bank as “ethnic cleansing.”

Earlier on Monday, Palestinian authorities raised "ethnic cleansing" accusations while a UN special rapporteur blamed Israel for “genocidal intent” in killing at least 70 Palestinians in Jenin since the start of the year.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Israeli attacks in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas, Far’a and Tammun.

The ministry said civilians are forcibly displaced from homes under armed threat, while entire neighborhoods are being destroyed with explosives, “which results in the forced alteration of Palestinian geography.”

The ministry called this a “flagrant violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and the Geneva Conventions.”

The statement also said it reflects an official Israeli policy to deepen the gradual annexation of the occupied West Bank for the benefit of settlement expansion.

The ministry called for urgent action by the international community to rein in Israel.

“The ministry holds the Israeli regime fully responsible for the consequences of these policies and calls on the international community to break its silence and fulfill its legal and moral obligations to put an end to this aggression.”

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