2002 Jenin massacre

Battle of Jenin / Jenin massacre
Part of Operation Defensive Shield and the Second Intifada
Aerial photograph of the refugee camp area in Jenin, taken in April after the invasion
Date 1-11 April 2002 (Israeli troop withdrawal began 18 April) Location Jenin, Israeli-occupied West Bank Result Israeli victory[1][2]
Belligerents
Israel  Israel Defense Forces	Palestinian Authority Palestinian Preventive Security [en]  Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades Tanzim [en]  Hamas's Qassam Brigades  Palestinian Islamic Jihad Saraya Al‑Quds Independent Palestinian mujahid factions
Commanders and leaders
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon  Israel Defense Forces Eyal Shlein Ofek Buchris Yehuda Yedidya[3]	Hazem Qabha  † Zakaria Zubeidi Mahmoud Tawalbe †
Strength
1 reserve infantry brigade 2 regular infantry battalions Commando teams[3] 12 × IDF Caterpillar D9 [en] armored bulldozers	200 to "several hundred".[3][4]
Casualties and losses
23 dead 52 wounded[3]	HRW said: 52 dead (at least 27 militants and 22 civilians).[5] IDF said: 53 dead (48 militants and 5 civilians)[6]
IDF said: dozens of houses were destroyed [3] HRW said: at least 140 buildings were completely destroyed, and 200 other buildings were made uninhabitable or unsafe.[5]

The Jenin massacre (Arabic: مجزرة جنين), also known as the Battle of Jenin, was an invasion of Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, by the Israel Defense Forces, from 1 to 11 April 2002. The Israeli military invaded the camp, and other areas under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, during the Second Intifada, as part of Operation Defensive Shield.

Israeli government sources indicate that a fierce battle took place in Jenin, forcing IDF soldiers to fight between houses. In contrast, Palestinian Authority sources, human rights organizations, and other international organizations indicate that Israeli forces, while conducting their operations in the refugee camp, committed indiscriminate killings, used human shields, used disproportionate force, arrested people without a reason, used torture, and denied medical treatment to the wounded.^[7][8]

Some people^{[who?][verification needed]} have criticised the United Nations report on the massacre because it described the Israelis and Palestinians as if they were two equally strong sides in a battle.^[8]

1. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Time was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ Lieutenant Colonel David Kilcullen (December 2003). "Tactics, The Essential Debate: Combined Arms and the Close Battle in Complex Terrain" (PDF). Australian Army Journal. 1 (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Cite error: The named reference harel257-258 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
4. ↑ Cite error: The named reference UNreport was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Jenin: IDF Military Operations". Human Rights Watch. 14, No. 3 (E) (May 2002). Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
6. ↑ Note: Every Palestinian male between 15 and 55 was counted as a militant. See "Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from Scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus". Amnesty International. Retrieved 22 October 2015.^: P.12
7. ↑ "Jenin massacre anniversary" ذكرى مجزرة جنين!. AlJazeera Mubasher (in Arabic). 1 April 2021.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} "Al Jazeera Mubasher, the anniversary of the Jenin massacre" الجزيرة مباشر، ذكرى مجزرة جنين. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021.