Shuafat Refugee Camp Besieged by Israeli Armed Forces

Shuafat Refugee Camp Besieged by Israeli Armed Forces
Photo from Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash

Annachiara Canetta

Middle East and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

  

On October 9th, Israeli armed forces shut down the two entry and exit points of Shuafat refugee camp and the nearby neighborhoods of Anata, Ras Khamis, Ras Shhadeh and Dahiyat al-Salam, northeast of Jerusalem. [1] In the area, which is encircled by the Separation Wall, live around 130,000 Palestinians, who can only access Jerusalem through the two permanently staffed Israeli police checkpoints. [2]

Israeli forces imposed the lockdown on the camp after one of their soldiers was shot while working at the camp’s checkpoint. They suspect a 22-year-old Palestinian, Uday Tamimi, to be responsible for the killing and to be trying to escape to the West Bank, therefore the closed checkpoints. The lockdown which resulted from the accident had tough consequences for Palestinians living in the area: kids were not able to attend school, medical patients could not access medical care, even in case of chemotherapy and dialysis, food items could hardly be brought into the camp and waste took much longer than normal to be collected from the camp. [3] Moreover, the military forces stormed Shuafat camp and confrontations with residents broke out, during which teargas and skunk water were used against civilians. [4]

Palestinian residents of the area responded to the siege by calling for a day of “civil disobedience” on Wednesday 12th of October: the call for protests was widely followed in various cities in Palestine, with businesses and workers striking and universities remaining closed. [5] In the days following the strike, the lockdown was partially eased, and people could more easily leave and enter the camp and the surrounding neighborhoods. [6] A few days later, the death of Uday Tamimi was announced: however, movement restrictions on Shuafat and neighboring areas seem to continue. [7]

 

 

Sources and further readings:

 

[1] Tahhan, Z. A. (2022, October 12). Palestinians strike against Israeli siege on Jerusalem camp. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/12/palestinians-strike-against-israeli-siege-jerusalem-camp

[2] Tahhan, Z. A. (2022, October 12). Palestinians strike against Israeli siege on Jerusalem camp. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/12/palestinians-strike-against-israeli-siege-jerusalem-camp

 [3] Masarwa, L. (2022).“Collective punishment”: Jerusalem refugee camp under siege as Israel hunts shooter. Middle East Eye. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-jerusalem-shuafat-refugee-camp-under-siege

 [4] Tahhan, Z. A. (2022, October 12). Palestinians strike against Israeli siege on Jerusalem camp. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/12/palestinians-strike-against-israeli-siege-jerusalem-camp

 

[5] Hammad, S. (2022, October 12). Palestinian fighters call for 'Days of Rage' as civil disobedience grows over camp blockade. Middle East Eye. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-fighters-days-rage-civil-disobedience-observed

 

[6] Debre, I. (2022, October 14). Besieged Jerusalem refugee camp reels from Israeli crackdown. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israeli-crackdown-jerusalem-refugee-camp-ignites-unrest-91511607

[7] Salman, A. (2022, October 21). Life gets more unbearable for Palestinians in Jerusalem’s only refugee camp. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/21/middleeast/jerusalem-camp-palestinians-mime-intl/index.html