As Israeli tanks roll into Jenin, Palestinians prepare for lengthy invasion

In Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, crowds gathered to watch two enormous armored bulldozers rumble into the Jenin refugee camp, tearing up the asphalt road to clear a path for three Israeli tanks. A young man, with a tone of awe and disbelief, said, "This is the first time I've ever seen tanks with my own eyes." The sun was setting over one of the camp's entrances on Sunday.

Before him, the two massive bulldozers continued to advance, demolishing more of the road surface. After weeks of relentless raids, the refugee camp, nearly deserted, was bracing for yet another military incursion. Ahmed, born in Jenin in 2003 during the height of the Second Intifada, had witnessed military incursions before. But Israeli tanks hadn't been seen on the streets of Jenin since the 2002 uprising, and now it seemed the Israelis were planning a long-term presence.

Ahmed stood among a group of young men and boys on Haifa Street, near one of the entrances to the refugee camp. "It won't be easy for them to stay," he murmured, as the heavy machinery continued its work. For over an hour, journalists, local residents, and an Israeli military vehicle nearby silently watched as the bulldozers dismantled the Haifa Street roundabout. Subsequently, as the last piece of debris was pushed aside, the engines of the Merkava tanks roared to life, and the armored vehicles began to advance into the city.

When asked if he expected immediate resistance, a young man nearby shook his head. "I don't think so. There's no one left in the camp, not even the fighters." However, as the tanks advanced into the refugee camp, a familiar scene unfolded. A group of Palestinian youths and children, unarmed, could only throw stones at the approaching tanks. In response, the operator of one of the tanks aimed its cannon and turret directly at the crowd of journalists and onlookers. Moments later, tear gas filled the air, dispersing the assembled young men and children.

Since 2022, Israel has conducted raids in the occupied West Bank almost daily; its stated aim is to weaken Palestinian armed resistance groups operating there. Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israel has increased its use of lethal force in the West Bank, employing helicopters, drones, and now tanks. The recent escalation of violence in Jenin began on January 21, but Israeli forces have also attacked other locations, including Qabatiya and Tulkarm. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he had instructed the military to "prepare for a long-term presence in the cleaned-up camp in the coming years, to prevent residents from returning and to prevent the resurgence of terrorism."

Among the crowd watching the tanks disappear into the camp was a young man who had been displaced just weeks earlier. He stood silently, his face etched with uncertain tension. "Once again, we don't know what will happen," he said. "I have a house to stay in now, but many people have nowhere to sleep tonight." According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), over 40,000 Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes in the West Bank, and Israeli forces are refusing to allow them to return.

The incursion into the Jenin camp was preceded by weeks of siege, during which first the Palestinian Authority forces and then the Israeli military imposed severe restrictions on movement, cutting off the camp's water and electricity. Many families were forced to flee abruptly, leaving behind their belongings, including a group of women trudging through the destroyed and muddy streets of Jenin. They gathered at one of the entrances to the camp, planning to return to their homes and retrieve some of what they had been forced to leave behind. Their faces were weary, their shoes caked in mud, surrounded by the bags they would use to collect their belongings, waiting to be let through.

But they were unsuccessful. The Israeli soldiers who had forced them from their homes prevented them from passing through the checkpoint they had created from the rubble of the camp's destroyed streets. "The officer told us yesterday that we could come back today, but now he's refusing to let us in," one of the women said, her voice filled with frustration. Unwilling to give up, the women began walking along another passage, in the narrow, muddy streets where rubble and destruction were everywhere. Someone warned them not to try again with an ominous word: "Snipers!"

"We will return one day," said Halima Zawawi, her smile a stark contrast to her tired eyes and the slow, shuffling gait caused by her lung cancer. Halima was born in the Jenin refugee camp and had lived there her entire life, but she was driven from her home by Israeli soldiers on January 22. She fled the violence with only the clothes on her back. The 63-year-old vividly remembers the jets flying overhead, the sound of gunfire filling the air, and the bullets whizzing over their heads. Israeli forces killed 10 people that day, setting the tone for the weeks to come.

Now, Halima, her siblings, and her nephews—eight people in total—are crammed into a room at a school for deaf children, which has become a shelter for about 16 families forced from the refugee camp. Other families have been forced to scatter throughout the city of Jenin, staying with relatives or wherever else they can find space. But, Halima says, this is the biggest and most vicious Israeli assault on the camp she has ever experienced, and the camp has suffered so many Israeli assaults over the decades.

She added that the Israelis will stay because she believes they want to displace everyone living in the camp, which is evident from all the destruction. Halima hopes her house is still partially standing; the windows and doors have been blown out, and several walls are badly damaged or collapsed. In addition to the regular Israeli raids the camp residents have endured for years, "we were besieged for 45 days," Halima said. "No electricity, no water, no roads, and gunfire everywhere. We were living in darkness in the camp," she added, referring to the siege carried out by Palestinian Authority forces against Palestinians in the camp, preceding the Israeli incursion.

Halima doesn't know when she will be able to go home, and neither do the other displaced people from Jenin. Israel continues to breach what were previously considered red lines, but faces few immediate consequences due to the lack of guardrails, and a U.S. government that seems to actively support its actions. Many observers believe that Israel's ultimate goal is to reduce the Palestinian population in the West Bank, but in Gaza, Israel has unleashed the full force of its military for 15 months, and a similar goal has so far remained elusive.

But even without a strategy, Israel's military force against the people of Jenin is upending the lives of thousands, with no end in sight. "What do they intend to do?" asked Jamila, a resident. "Destroy the entire camp? Do they want to dig a hole in the ground and put us in it?"