Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
The occupied West Bank on Wednesday marked 100 days since Israel launched an unprecedented invasion of Jenin’s refugee camp in an ongoing military operation that has raised fears the territory faces the same horrors endured by Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The “Iron Wall” raid, which has been extended from Jenin to other West Bank cities in the north, has led to tens of thousands of people being displaced, adding further strain on local authorities and NGOs trying to meet the needs of those fleeing. The refugee camps under siege were already struggling with difficult living conditions and high unemployment rates, and have long produced Palestinian militants.
"Jenin camp is completely uninhabitable due to the demolition of more than 600 houses," said Basheer Matahen, spokesman for Jenin municipality, said ahead of the 100-day mark.
Israeli forces are also operating in the eastern area of Jenin, he added, and there were "displacement operations in the Zahra district".
"The number of displaced people is 22,000," he said.
Between January 1, just before Iron Wall began, and April 24, more than 90 per cent of 116 Palestinians killed were in the north of the region, according to the UN. Seven Israelis, five of them security personnel, have been killed in the same period.
The Palestinian Authority, which is supposed to govern Jenin although it has lost almost all power there in recent years, launched its own operation in the camp at the end of last year.
Jenin's mayor Mohammed Jarrar told The National that since 2021, the area has seen more than 104 major raids, which he defined as lasting for longer than two days.
While the whole of the West Bank has seen increased military operations in recent years, the latest round is unprecedented in its duration and goals. Israeli forces have engaged in widespread destruction in an apparent bid to prevent people from returning, installed metal barriers to control access and widened the often narrow alleys of the camps to make future incursions easier for heavy vehicles.
As the operation expanded to other camps in March, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said: "We are crushing the terrorist infrastructure in the refugee camps and preventing their return."
Members of Israel's far-right coalition – many of whom live in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank – consistently call for heavy military action throughout Palestinian territories and for their country to annex the entire region.
The UN says it is difficult to find an exact number of how many Palestinians have been displaced, “partly due to continuous attempts by families to return to their homes, with many displaced multiple times”. But estimates have put the number in the tens of thousands. Palestinian Authority figures specified 46,000 on Monday.
Israel has also cracked down on civil liberties in the region, including restricting the work of journalists. The UN reported last week that Israeli forces fired tear gas at reporters and confiscated their equipment.
Fears are also growing for the well-being of veteran Jenin-based Palestinian journalist Ali Samoudi, who was detained by Israel in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Israel’s military accused him of being a “terrorist … who was identified with Islamic Jihad” and of transferring funds to the group, but Israel has provided no evidence. Mr Samoudi has worked for international outlets such as CNN and Reuters.
At a memorial event for fallen Israeli soldiers on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Thanks to the heroism of our fighters, we broke the stranglehold of our enemies: we did so in the south, in the north, in [the occupied West Bank] and on other fronts as well."
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
