Nick Schifrin:
The epicenter of the recent violence in the West Bank has been the Jenin refugee camp. In late August, Israel launched its largest West Bank raids in 20 years. Israel calls the camp the crucible of Palestinian militancy.
Another round of raids last month targeted what Israel labeled terrorists who’d attack Israeli settlers and soldiers. Israel calls the Jenin fighting urban warfare at its most difficult, because militants are embed in the city and even throw explosives at Israeli soldiers from mosques.
The Israeli military campaign here has intensified using tactics that used to be unheard of, airstrikes. This is a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp hit by Israeli jets. And locals tell me they’re not going to rebuild it because they fear that, if they did, Israel would hit it again.
The U.N. established the camp and others like it for Palestinians forced from their homes during Israel’s independence in 1948. At first, it was controlled by Jordan. It’s been occupied by Israel since 1967. Today, some 14,000 of their descendants live here, and it has among the highest rates of unemployment and poverty across the West Bank.
