The journey of the Palestinian who opened fire at a streetside bar in Tel Aviv last week, killing three young Israeli men, began a two-hour drive away in an impoverished refugee camp inside the occupied West Bank.
Twenty years after Jenin became the site of one of the biggest battles of the second Palestinian uprising, Israel is once again launching near-daily raids into the camp and trading fire with armed refugees.
Decades of dispossession, poverty and violence have strengthened the camp's reputation as a bastion of armed struggle against Israeli rule.
Tyres, gutted appliances and rubble are piled up near the entrances to the camp, which is transformed into a fortress at night, when the raids usually occur. Narrow roads wind through a maze of squat concrete homes built on a hillside, some adorned with portraits of dead Palestinians and the flags of armed factions.
Palestinians have killed 14 Israelis in a series of attacks in recent weeks, and violence at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Friday raised tensions higher.
Last Thursday, Raad Hazem, 28, from the Jenin camp, attacked the bar in central Tel Aviv and eluded a manhunt for hours before police shot and killed him near a mosque.
A poster celebrating Hazem as a martyr to the Palestinian cause was hung over the main entrance to the camp after the attack, praising him for “imposing a curfew” on the seaside metropolis.
Israel has launched a wave of arrest raids across the West Bank, igniting clashes with Palestinians. At least 25 Palestinians were killed, many of whom had carried out attacks or were involved in the clashes, but also an unarmed woman and a lawyer who appears to have been killed in error. Twelve were from in or around Jenin.
The renewed violence came as little surprise to Ahmed Tobasi, the artistic director of the Freedom Theatre, which was co-founded by a militant and offers drama classes, performance facilities and a safe space for young Palestinians in the camp.
“What do you expect from a child who grows up in a refugee camp, who sees army raids morning, noon and night?” he said. “His father’s a prisoner, his brother’s a prisoner, his mother has been detained, his friends are prisoners or martyrs.”
“There’s no opportunity to be anything else,” he said.
The camp is home to Palestinian families who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. Like other camps across the Middle East, it has grown into a crowded, built-up neighbourhood where a UN agency provides basic services.
Jenin emerged as a militant stronghold during the 2000-2005 intifada, when Palestinians launched scores of suicide bombings and other attacks against civilians, and Israel imposed closures and carried out deadly raids.
On March 27, 2002, a suicide bomber struck a Passover gathering in the coastal city of Netanya, killing at least 30 people and wounding 140 others.
Days later, Israeli troops launched an operation in the Jenin camp. For eight days and nights they fought militants street by street, using armoured bulldozers to destroy rows of homes, many of which had been booby-trapped.
An AP reporter who visited the camp afterward said it looked like an earthquake had hit.
At least 52 Palestinians, up to half of whom may have been civilians, were killed in the fighting, according to the UN. Twenty-three Israeli soldiers were killed, including 13 in a single ambush.
Two decades later, the Palestinians' dream of an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza — territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war — is more remote than before.
Peace talks ground to a halt more than a decade ago, and Israel continues to build and expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which it unilaterally annexed and considers part of its capital.
Gaza is ruled by the militant and political group Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority's limited self-rule is confined to West Bank cities and towns.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is opposed to Palestinian statehood and supports the settlements, but his government has taken steps to improve economic conditions, including easing some movement restrictions and issuing thousands of work permits to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel had hoped such measures would help to prevent a repeat of last year, when protests and clashes in Jerusalem during Ramadan started an 11-day Gaza war.
Now, after the attacks, Israel is tightening restrictions around Jenin and calling on the Palestinian Authority, which co-ordinates with it on security matters, to take action.
But the Palestinian Authority is in a crisis of legitimacy that would grow even worse if it is seen to side with Israel. Palestinian officials said the relentless Israeli raids in Jenin only undermine it further.
We are ready in principle to work on enforcing law and order, and to implement our agreements with the Israelis, but in exchange for what?
Akram Rajoub,
governor of Jenin
“We are ready in principle to work on enforcing law and order, and to implement our agreements with the Israelis, but in exchange for what?” Jenin's governor, Akram Rajoub, told Associated Press.
“I don’t work for the Israelis. If I don’t see a political solution on the horizon, then why should I do anything?”
Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired Israeli general who held senior positions in the West Bank during the intifada and is now at the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, said it is the other way around.
“You’re looking at the chicken and the egg here. We operate there because they don’t,” he said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Tel Aviv attack, but other officials did not.
Mr Rajoub visited the mourning tent of the attacker's family and gave a speech filled with praise that he later posted to Facebook.
“That’s something very disturbing,” Mr Kuperwasser said. “The Palestinian Authority still thinks it’s in an continuing struggle against Zionism and against Israel as the state of the Jewish people.”
In the Jenin camp, the Palestinian Authority is regarded as a public service provider at best, and at worst as collaborators with the occupation.
Few expect another full-blown uprising. Israeli officials said the recent attacks appear to have been carried out by lone assailants with perhaps some accomplices, rather than by militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
On the streets of Jenin, the tyres are piled up in anticipation of another confrontation.
“We are going to live on our land and die with dignity, and we aren’t going to surrender to the occupation,” Mr Rajoub said.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari
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Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company%20profile
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FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Read more about the coronavirus
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
