On June 1, 2024, while walking through the devastated streets of Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian-Canadian artist Rehab Nazzal spoke with me about the Israeli military’s latest terror campaign there.
The ‘martyr’s capital’
Located in the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the camp was established in 1953 to house Palestinians who were expelled from their homes by Israeli forces during and in the aftermath of the Naqba in 1948.
The camp has a high population density, estimated at 33,000/km2 by the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). Refugees in the camp face difficult living conditions, which are caused by Israeli restrictions. The camp has a high unemployment rate compared to the rest of the West Bank. Many of Jenin’s refugees live in substandard shelters, with poor sewage networks and common shortages in water and electricity.
The camp has since become a stronghold of Palestinian militants. It has become known as “the martyr’s capital“.
Jenin has witnessed countless Israeli atrocities, most notably the 2002 ‘Battle of Jenin‘ between Israel and Palestinian militants, and Israel’s assassination in 2022 of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
A new ‘battle of Jenin’
During the past few days, Israel provoked another ‘Battle of Jenin’.
According to Rehab, the IOF killed twelve civilians in this confrontation, but failed to quell Jenin’s resistance to the occupation.
Trudeau’s record of contempt for Palestinian-Canadian lives
Rehab is no stranger to Israel’s brutal oppression. In 2015, an Israeli sniper shot Rehab while she was photographing an Israeli ‘skunk-truck’ in Bethlehem.
I subsequently agreed to act as her attorney on a pro bono basis. My mandate was to persuade the Trudeau government to hold Israel accountable for this crime. Despite our efforts, Trudeau did nothing.
At the time, Canada’s Ambassador to Israel was Deborah Lyons. Lyons now serves as the Trudeau government’s special envoy on anti-Semitism. At taxpayer expense, she devotes her energies to smearing critics of Israel’s genocidal regime.
You can watch and listen to Rehab’s report from Jenin here:
I know the quality of the video is poor, but Rehab look so tired and thin, I was horrified and shocked.
And to think there are thousands in a same, or worse, condition.
Thank you to both her and you for the work you do. Let’s hope it brings the end of this nightmare…