JENIN (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Mayor of Jenin, Nidal Abo Eid, described the destruction caused by the Israeli occupation army in the city, its eastern neighborhood, and the refugee camp as resembling an earthquake, estimating the damage at about 500 million shekels (approximately $135.2 million).
Abo Eid said that the biggest loss is the loss of lives, adding that there is extensive destruction inflicted by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on the infrastructure, including the breaking and damaging of water and communication lines, as well as firing at electrical transformers.
He told Anadolu Agency that the destruction exceeds that caused by the IOF in previous operations, estimating it at about 500 million shekels ($135.2 million). In describing the ongoing destruction, particularly in the eastern neighborhood and the camp, the Mayor of Jenin said, “It is as if an earthquake has struck the city; there is massive destruction, streets have been destroyed while homes have been demolished and others have been blown up.”
Abo Eid accused the IOF of deliberately causing vast destruction, stating, “The operation is still ongoing for the fifth consecutive day, and every day brings new damage and destruction.” He noted that the military operation “has paralyzed public and economic life. The situation for residents is extremely difficult, and there is a severe shortage of essential materials in the eastern neighborhood and the camp due to the blockade.”
He continued, “The city needs significant effort to restore and rehabilitate what the occupation has destroyed, and we will work to rehabilitate it as much as possible to ease the lives of the residents once the withdrawal occurs.”
Last Thursday, the Palestinian Monetary Authority stated that a disruption occurred in the banking services at some branches in Jenin Governorate due to the IOF destruction of the fiber lines providing internet services.
The communications network of the “Jawwal” company, one of the two major telecommunications companies in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, has completely shut down.
Since midnight on Tuesday, the IOF has launched a military operation in northern West Bank, considered the largest since 2002. Large forces invaded the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, their refugee camps, and the Faraa camp near Tubas, before withdrawing at dawn on Thursday from the Faraa camp and in the evening from Tulkarem.
In Jenin, operations are still ongoing, as the IOF has deployed armored forces supported by air power to the city, raiding parts of the Jenin camp and concentrating its forces in the eastern neighborhood, which has witnessed armed clashes and explosions.
Alongside its aggression against the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, the IOF has expanded its operations in the West Bank while settlers have intensified their attacks, resulting in the deaths of 676 Palestinians, including 150 children, over 5,400 injuries, and more than 10,200 arrests, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
