It has long been the intention of Pro-Palestinian groups, both Western (International Solidarity Movement, Students for Justice in Palestine) and Eastern (Hamas, Palestine Liberation Organization), to paint Israel as the moral inferior before the world stage. One of the means has been to portray the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as being a racist colonialist front guilty of genocide. Of course, if the IDF was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, it would be the first genocide in recorded history in which the population targeted increased in number while being ‘exterminated.’

Nevertheless, there have been instances in which the allegation of large scale massacre has gained wide acceptance. Enter the city of Jenin, a settlement of Arab refugees that became a major battleground in the West Bank between the IDF and various Palestinian militant groups. The conflict was brutal and the treatment of civilians by both sides was inexcusable. However, as the gunfire ebbed off, it was replaced with shouts of massacre coming from various leaders and inhabitants. In the end, contrary to the claims, the “Jenin Massacre” is fiction.

The United Nations, the global body whose treatment of Israel has not always been justified, released a report on the Jenin battle. In extensive detail, it described the horrific conditions civilians in the area had to go through, from inaccessibility to medical treatment to no electricity.¹ However, as the report also notes, “Using loudspeakers, IDF urged civilians in Arabic to evacuate the camp.”¹ Although some IDF soldiers would later say the efforts were not sufficient, the point is that at least Israel attempted to get Arab civilians out of harm’s way. It must be noted at this point that since Israel became an independent state no similar attempts to get Jewish civilians out of harm’s way have been initiated by Arab forces.

As for the massacre itself, the UN Report had this to say: “Fifty-two Palestinian deaths had been confirmed by the hospital in Jenin by the end of May 2002. IDF also place the death toll at approximately 52. A senior Palestinian Authority official alleged in mid-April that some 500 were killed, a figure that has not been substantiated in the light of the evidence that has emerged.”¹ Critical to the validity of the statements made is that the United Nations is not a friend of Israel. Indeed, the UN Report cited in this work had the subtitle “Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.¹

One of the non-government organizations (NGOs) cited in the UN Report was Human Rights Watch, who conducted an investigation into the nefarious activities of both sides, but like the UN focused mostly on Israel. Regarding civilian fatalities in the battle for Jenin, HRW had this to say:

“During its investigation, Human Rights Watch found serious violations of international humanitarian law. The organization documented fifty-two Palestinian deaths in the camp and its environs caused by the fighting. At least twenty-two of those confirmed dead were civilians, including children, physically disabled, and elderly people. At least twenty-seven of those confirmed dead were suspected to have been armed Palestinians belonging to movements such as Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades.”²

Regarding the allegations made by Pro-Palestinians of a massacre taking place, HRW wrote the following:

“It does not appear that there are larger numbers of ‘missing’ persons from the camp. The residents of the camp gave consistent lists of the known or suspected dead in the camp, and those lists did not grow significantly while Human Rights Watch conducted research in the camp. Some of the cases documented by Human Rights Watch amount to unlawful and deliberate killings. However, the organization did not find evidence of systematic summary executions.”²

As other NGOs joined the United Nations and HRW in denying the claim that hundreds and hundreds of Arab civilians were slaughtered by the IDF, the British Broadcasting Corporation, an internationally respected news source, reported that the UN Report was valid. “The report was compiled at the request of Arab nations, based on information from UN officials, the Palestinians, private relief organisations and foreign governments.”³

Once again, the BBC confirms what others have said. “Using figures from Jenin hospital and the Israeli military (IDF) it says only 52 Palestinian deaths could be confirmed. Civilians were put in harm's way, both by the Israelis' methods of attack and by Palestinian armed groups' responses, according to the report."³

So, according to the United Nations, the BBC, HRW, and others there was no massacre at Jenin, least of all one committed by the IDF. I guess the best way to close this work is to note the hypocrisy so indulged in by Pro-Palestinians, in this particular case by Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Still a firm believer in the malevolence of the IDF, he asked the question “How many civilians must be killed to speak of a massacre?"³ Good question, but a better one would be when will the Palestinian Arabs start loving their people more than they hate the Jews?

When will people like Saeb Erekat decide the wave of Palestinian suicide bombings that initiated the military operations in the West Bank that eventually led to the battle of Jenin are crimes against humanity? When will their soldiers be put under tough investigation by numerous NGOs? As of this date, like many people I’m still waiting for these things to come to pass.

Sources:

1. http://www.un.org/peace/jenin/ (accessed 08/08/07)

2. http://hrw.org/reports/2002/israel3/israel0502-05.htm#P234_38516 (accessed 08/08/07)

3. BBC News, “UN Says no Massacre in Jenin”, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2165272.stm (accessed 08/08/07)