The United Nations Condemned the Israeli Military Operation in Jenin

By: Athaillah Arkan Triwahyu

Earlier this month, the world was alarmed by the recurrence of an eternal conflict: the Israeli— Palestinian conflict. This time, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) launched a large-scale aerial and ground offensive on the Palestinian city of Jenin, making it one of Israel’s biggest military operations in the West Bank territory (McKernan & Beaumont, 2023). The attack that began on the third of July and ended on the fifth has at least claimed the lives of twelve Palestinian — five of them children — and one IDF soldier, with an estimate of a hundred being injured (Muhammad, 2023; UN OHCHR, 2023). The large scale of the offensive operation was a result of a build-up of previous smaller scale conflicts between the IDF and Palestinian resistance.

This military operation was launched with the justification of eradicating pockets of resistance fighters, which have been an element of skirmishes preceding the July offensive (Reuters, 2023). The operation in specific consisted of an IDF brigade with a rough estimate of between 1,000–2,000 personnels, 10 drone strikes, along with a backup of armored bulldozers and sharpshooters nested on top of buildings. All while the retaliations were done by Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas (McKernan & Beaumont, 2023). This conflict, though a short-lived one, has raised concerns from the United Nations.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) took notice of the severity of the conflict and deemed that the operation “may constitute war crime.” Other than that, UN experts found no legal justifications under the enacted international laws for Israel’s so-called “counter-terrorism” operations (UN OHCHR, 2023). This was not the first time that an Israeli military operation had violations of international humanitarian laws. According to an investigative report by the Human Rights Watch in 2002, a conflict that took place in Jenin as well resulted in the unlawful killings and civilian casualties of several Palestinians by the IDF. To give an example, nineteen year-old Hani Abu Rumaila was trying to observe the entrance of the IDF to the outskirts of Jenin when he was shot in the leg, the abdomen, and in the chest, killing him (Human Rights Watch, 2002).

The military operation in Jenin intended to eradicate Palestinian militants is not the first time the Israeli Defence Force launched an offensive operation in the West Bank, nor Jenin in particular, but it sure was one of the largest. Though the operation lasted less than a week, it cost a significant amount of casualties, at least enough to get the attention of the UN and for its High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider the military operation as both illegal and one that constitutes war crime. And akin to the operation itself, this was not the first time Israel was called out for war crimes in Jenin.

References:

Human Rights Watch. (2002). Jenin: IDF Military Operations. Www.hrw.org. https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/israel3/israel0502-05.htm

McKernan, B., & Beaumont, P. (2023, July 3). Israel attacks Jenin in biggest West Bank incursion in 20 years. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/03/palestinians-killed-israeli-strike-west-bank-jenin

Muhammad, M. (2023, July 6). After the Israeli Military onslaught, the Spirit of the Jenin Citizens is Unshakable. Kompas.id. https://www.kompas.id/baca/english/2023/07/05/en-pasca-gempuran-militer-israel-spirit-warga-jenin-tak-tergoyahkan

Reuters. (2023, July 5). Why did Israel attack Jenin? West Bank operation explained. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/why-is-israel-attacking-jenin-west-bank-operation-explained-2023-07-04/

UN OHCHR. (2023, July 5). Israeli air strikes and ground operations in Jenin may constitute war crime: UN experts. OHCHR. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/07/israeli-air-strikes-and-ground-operations-jenin-may-constitute-war-crime-un