Abbas Pledges To Rebuild Jenin Refugee Camp After Major Israeli Operation
Some Jenin residents see the president’s visit after decadelong absence as an attempt to improve his image in the camp, the residents of which are largely disillusioned with the Palestinian Authority
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas paid a visit to the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Wednesday, his first visit in over a decade.
The visit came one week after a large Israeli raid on the refugee camp. Israel employed drones, helicopters, bulldozers, and more than 1,000 troops in the raid. One Israeli soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed during the two-day operation, and the refugee camp sustained extensive damage.
Abbas’ visit was carefully choreographed, with hundreds of heavily armed presidential guards arriving days in advance to patrol the streets and provide security.
The authority came here to confirm that it is with its people in the camp. And let us continue rebuilding the camp and challenge with this work all those who want to defeat us and all those who want to attack us, and we will remain steadfast.
Flanked by several officials from the PA and from Fatah, the political party that Abbas heads, the Palestinian president shared a unifying message. He described the camp as an emblem of victory, challenge, and steadfastness, and vowed to quickly rebuild.
“The authority came here to confirm that it is with its people in the camp. And let us continue rebuilding the camp and challenge with this work all those who want to defeat us and all those who want to attack us, and we will remain steadfast,” Abbas told the crowd who gathered to see him in the blistering heat.
Jenin residents who spoke to The Media Line called on the PA to address the situation in the camp. Some said that the president’s visit was a move in the right direction, while others, who insisted on speaking off the record, expressed resentment toward the PA and its leadership.
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“We thank and appreciate the president’s visit to the Jenin camp and his commitment to the people who were affected and whose homes were destroyed by the occupation invasion,” resident Ahmad Awas told The Media Line.
We tell you, Mr. President, that you went to the United Nations and demanded international protection for you and your people, but no one listened to your call
Another resident, who declined to share his name, addressed Abbas directly.
“We tell you, Mr. President, that you went to the United Nations and demanded international protection for you and your people, but no one listened to your call. Today, from the Jenin camp, the Jenin Brigades made a decision to protect you,” he told The Media Line.
The Jenin Brigades is an armed Palestinian group founded in Jenin in 2021. For some Palestinians, the group’s calls for armed resistance represent an appealing alternative to the ideology of the PA, which is seen as ineffective. The Israeli raid was largely a response to recent terror attacks carried out by the Jenin Brigades and other armed groups.
Many Jenin residents chose not to attend Abbas’ speech. Most of the attendees were uniformed and plainclothed PA security personnel.
The PA has long had a strained relationship with Jenin. Last week, three top PA officials who came to Jenin to attend a funeral for those killed by Israeli troops were expelled by families attending the funeral. Abbas himself had not visited Jenin in more than a decade before his visit on Wednesday. The visit has been dismissed by some Palestinians as an attempt by Abbas to improve his public image and assert control in the refugee camp.
Abbas has struggled to maintain the support of the Palestinian people outside of Jenin as well. He and the PA are already seen as weak by many Palestinians, and the recent raid was widely interpreted as a further blow.
In his speech, Abbas issued a warning to those threatening the stability of his rule, apparently referring to Hamas, the rival Palestinian political party.
“I would like to say to everyone near and far, this country is one and will remain one. Its security is one, and everyone who tampers with its unity and security will only see something they won’t like. We will not allow it and we will never accept it. And I say it frankly, that the hand that threatens the unity, security, and stability of the people will be cut from its roots,” Abbas said.
Abbas’ visit lasted less than half an hour before his motorcade left for Ramallah, the de facto capital of the PA.
