Aqabet Jaber, a resident of the West Bank – Sadness and fear fill the narrow streets of the refugee camp in the Palestinian city of Jericho.
Crowds of men and women dressed in black walked from funeral to funeral, while others spent the morning preparing to destroy houses, fields and cars.
Early on Monday, the Israeli army launched a massive attack on the Aqabet Jaber refugee camp that lasted six hours. In the aftermath, five Palestinian men died and two were seriously injured – all of whom are still in Israeli custody.
Four of the five men were from the Owaidat family, including two brothers: Rafaat Wael Owaidat, 21, and Ibrahim Wael Owaidat, 27, and their cousins Adham Majdi Owaidat, 22, and Thaer Owaidat, 28. The fifth person killed was Malek Lafi . , 22 .
The Israeli military said in a statement that the seven men were all militants, and two of those killed were those who attempted to shoot at an Israeli oil refinery called Almog, in Jericho, on January 28.
While it is certain that riots took place in the camp on Monday, it is not clear whether the five people who died and the two who were injured were terrorists involved.
‘I didn’t expect this cruelty’
Monday’s attack came at the end of a 10-day blockade of the Israeli army in Jericho, and a day later the Israeli army carried out another major attack on the camp – on February 4 – where more than a dozen Palestinians were. injured and many properties destroyed.
Residents told Al Jazeera that the Israeli army used excessive force and caused extensive damage to several areas of the camp throughout the incident, including the use of live ammunition, live ammunition, mortars, anti-tank grenades, and tear gas.
“We did not expect to face such brutality and torture two days in a row,” said Jihad Owaidat, 40, the uncle of the two boys who were killed on Monday.
“They entered several houses in the neighborhood, forcing all the residents outside for hours until the job was over, including women and children. They brutally searched the men – making them take off their winter clothes,” he said.
Half the kids in the neighborhood have mental health issues now.”
‘He kept hitting me’
The attack on the Jericho refugee camp came as part of an increase in Israeli military presence and massacres in Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.
From September 2021, a number of small Palestinian armed groups – focused on stopping the Israeli army and protecting their territories – have been formed mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus. Israel has planned to crush them for more than a year.
On Saturday, the first images of fighters from the Aqabet Jaber refugee camp surfaced in a confrontation with Israeli forces. This was followed by a public statement announcing the latest military formation – the Aqabet Jaber Brigades.
When Israel says that terrorist attacks are killings, many civilians are often beaten and killed, arrested or tortured, and their property destroyed.
Last year was the deadliest for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the end of the second Intifada, or mass uprising, in 2005.
Israeli forces killed 171 Palestinians, including more than 30 children, in the West Bank, while 53 other Palestinians, including 17 children, were killed during the three-day war on the besieged Gaza Strip in August.
On Monday in Jericho, Israeli forces destroyed the small, two-story house of 61-year-old Adel Hassan Owaidat using anti-tank Energa bombs, while he and seven family members were inside.
“Two of my sons and my nephew were on the stairs going down to the ground floor when our whole loft was suddenly blown up by two bombs,” Adel told Al Jazeera.
“A few minutes later, the tractor sank to the ground and began to destroy it. The soldiers were shouting to the speaker: ‘Bring out the destroyers!’ We told them, “There are no fighters in the house,” he continued.
And they said to us, “Get out, or we will demolish the house on your head.” They made us come out, one by one, with our hands up. They undressed us in the freezing cold, and stood us aside [of the road] for many hours asking questions.”
A short time later, Israeli soldiers entered the building and fired countless shots at the walls.
Adel asked the soldiers, “You went in and searched and you didn’t find anything, so why do you keep shooting in the house and destroying it?”
He said it will cost about 200,000 Israeli shekels ($57,400) to repair.
Adel, along with his two sons and nephew, were arrested and imprisoned for eight hours. All were released without charge.
“He kept beating me,” said Mohammad, Adel’s 17-year-old son. He used to ask: ‘Where is Malek, where is Raafat?’ And when I said that I don’t know, they beat me and hit me with a gun.”
The Israeli army said it was searching the camp for “members of a terrorist group that is trying to carry out attacks” in Jericho in January.
In another corner of the camp, the mothers of the three Palestinians who were killed on Monday sat side by side among relatives and friends who consoled them as verses from the Quran played in the background.
The mothers said that although they know that their children have chosen the path of rejection and respect them for this, nothing can ease the pain of losing a child.
Umm Ibrahim, the 47-year-old mother of Ibrahim and Raafat Owaidat, said Israel is “responsible for everything that is happening”.
“What do you think pushed my children to this side? They were filled with anger and pain because of the daily killings, prisoners – everything. They were loyal to this country,” he told Al Jazeera, noting that Raafat always takes part in conflicts with the army. when the Israelites arrived at the camp.
“After Raafat’s friend was arrested, he started working hard to pay the family expenses, including the lawyer,” he added.
‘Born to work’
Hanadi Mahmoud, the mother of Adham Owaidat who was killed, described her son as “a man who loves life”.
“These are our lands – Israel came to us. It builds, destroys houses, steals land. And now he killed my son, and left his body? He told Al Jazeera. “This is how the Palestinian people are – and Palestinian women.”
Meanwhile, the mother of Thaer Owaidat, a father of four, said her son was “15 when he was first arrested”.
The young people in the camp said they hope that the situation there will reach another peak.
“We were born to work. What happened is a response to everything that is happening in Al-Aqsa [Mosque]the killing of people in Jenin, Nablus, martyrs every day,” said Adnan al-Mgaiti, a resident in his 20s.
“For any Palestinian who is brave and honorable and proud, walking into the camp of soldiers driving four cars will not be unusual. It is not easy to pass. We always meet terrorists, but in Jericho it is not clear.
Adnan said that while he “doesn’t know what’s going to happen, it looks like there are guys working” against the camp – like many others across the populated West Bank.
