Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The sirens echo from every mosque’s loudspeaker, their sound piercing the quiet night in Jenin, announcing the imminent arrival of the Israeli army.
Those who live in the city’s refugee camp here in the northern occupied West Bank know the drill: many families hastily pack up a few belongings, jolt their children out of bed, then escape on foot or in their cars. During the now almost nightly army raids, it’s better to be anywhere but the camp, residents say.
As civilians flee or bunker up, the men who call themselves Jenin’s resistance fighters prepare to face the Israeli soldiers – often what follows is a battle that lasts all night: rounds of artillery, machinegun fire, Israeli drone strikes.
Daybreak reveals deaths, bulldozed streets, bullet-riddled homes. Amid all this, people are trying to navigate daily life: children sit outside or play football with their friends; men meet for sugary black coffee after work, women chat with their neighbours by the roadside. But fear and exhaustion are widespread.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, raids and arrests throughout the West Bank have picked up, as have violent attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers living illegally in the territory.
In the refugee camps – most of which were set up shortly after the Nakhba – the forced displacement of Palestinians upon the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 – resistance is growing.
Tahani Mustafa, the International Crisis Group’s London-based senior Palestine analyst, said that there likely are no more than 40 fighters per camp, but that Israel might be opening up more fronts than they can manage.
“They might be creating a situation they could be losing control over,” Ms Mustafa said. “These fighters feel like they are being deprived of their freedoms, while Israel is getting away with impunity,” she added.
“Allegiances are however very fluid and constantly shifting, depending on who is willing to equip and support the fighters."
For Jenin’s residents – the camp with its narrow clusters of stone houses is home to some 11,000 people – the constant cycle of violence has become unbearable.
“Life here is terrifying at all times. There are drone strikes; there’s death everywhere,” Kefah Amouri, 49, a mother whose 26-year-old son Weam was killed during a recent raid, told The National.
She sits at home, surrounded by friends and relatives, mourning the loss of her son. “At night, we don’t sleep because we worry that the Israeli army might come. During the day, we watch television to keep updated on the situation in Gaza. I often wonder if we’ll be next, if this sort of war is coming our way,” she added.
In Nur Shams, another West Bank refugee camp, a group of Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters sit under several large plastic sheets draping from the houses that line the narrow alleyway.
The gun-clad men aren’t sheltering from the sun, but from Israeli surveillance drones and fighter jets. On October 19, the camp – home to some 14,500 people – was struck by an air strike and raided by the Israeli army, leaving 13 people dead, including five children.
“Those who suffer most are always the poor, always civilians,” Abier Shole, 42, said. Now a mother of nine, her 16-year-old son Mujahid was killed in the October 19 air strike.
“He was just a child,” she said, determined to stay composed. “What happened to me is still easier to process compared to what is happening to people in Gaza. She is sitting in her living room surrounded by family and friends who came with their condolences. A poster of her late son is propped up on the wall; Ms Shole carries the same image of her child like a pendant around her neck.
Nearby her house, a small group of resistance fighters are still gathering, including 18-year-old Ahmet, who is using a pseudonym to hide his identity. He’s wearing fake Adidas flip flops and a camouflage baseball cap.
A pieced-together M4 series rifle that he says was given to him by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leadership in the camp rests on his lap. Several other people have gathered: elderly men holding prayer beads in their hands, women carrying bags full of groceries.
The distinctive sound of a fighter jet in the sky can be heard as the crowd smiles nervously. “It’s just a commercial plane,” one man said, trying to calm everyone’s nerves, but the fighters quickly disperse the gathering: too many people – too many phones that could be tracked – in one place.
Ahmet turns around before leaving, saying that he was still full of hope for a better future. “This weapon I hold now – I don’t want it. I want the occupation to end. I want peace,” he said.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
HOW TO WATCH
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Company%20profile
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The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
