A senior member of the Fatah movement, Shami Al-Shami, said between Wednesday and Thursday that the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, asked to estimate the extent of the damage in the refugee camp. According to him, "The Sheikh expressed support for the Palestinian cause and stated that he is prepared to rebuild the refugee camp in Jenin as a result of the destruction it suffered from Israel's terrorist attack." Al-Shami added: "We see the close cooperation with the United Arab Emirates as an integral part of the Palestinian struggle and the quest to achieve justice and freedom."
At the same time, Dimitri Diliani, a member of the revolutionary council of the Fatah movement, also expressed appreciation for Ben-Zayed's words, saying: "The support of the Emirates after the wave of terror and destruction by the Israeli army is the first humanitarian support towards Jenin and its people, and it reflects the position of the United Arab Emirates towards the Palestinian cause is in accordance with its historical positions." Diliani emphasized that in addition to political support, the United Arab Emirates provides financial support to the Palestinian people. According to him, in 2002, after the Israel Defense Forces operation, the United Arab Emirates provided 25 million dollars for the rehabilitation of the refugee camp in the city.
UAE strongly condemns Israeli attacks on Jenin and camphttps://t.co/H1h4dyWT45
— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) July 3, 2023
According to the Palestinian media, the United Arab Emirates ranks fourth among the top ten countries in financial support for the Palestinian Authority. Since the establishment of the PA, the United Arab Emirates has provided a huge budget for projects and infrastructure worth $2.104 billion. Diliani further noted that these figures do not include hundreds of millions more provided by the United Arab Emirates through UNRWA or other organizations working among the Palestinians.
'Not a word from the Arab world on the attack in Tel Aviv. As far as the Jenin operation is concerned, the reaction of the UAE is quite unusual... strongly condemns the attacks by the Israeli occupation forces'@_bastienborie pic.twitter.com/AwLECvcPjF
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 4, 2023
After the end of the operation in Jenin, the mayor of Jenin claimed that the destruction in the city was "catastrophic, like after an earthquake". The authorities in Jenin claimed that the IDF's bulldozers caused massive destruction of buildings and that the IDF "deliberately destroyed a water pipe", and as a result, the municipality limited the residents' consumption. The local municipality also claimed that telephone lines and electricity lines were destroyed.
During the operation, the Palestinians claimed that many citizens "were displaced from their homes and had to find shelter." Eyewitnesses said that "the IDF forces forced citizens to evacuate their homes, and they did so using loudspeakers and shooting, it is as if we are living in another disaster". According to the sources, the Bank of Palestine also continues to provide assistance to people who were evacuated from their homes. Officials in the municipality said that "what is happening now reminds us of what happened in the Nakba in 1948, when people were displaced from their homes, the same thing happened in 2002."
Abdullah bin Zayed discusses UNRWA operations with Lazzarini; UAE provides $15 million to support rehabilitation of Jenin#WamNews https://t.co/NphTFk8S18 pic.twitter.com/yMGi66NrJm
— WAM English (@WAMNEWS_ENG) July 6, 2023
For perspective, the mission in Jenin was localized to the Jenin Refugee Camp, which is essentially a fully built neighborhood that has been the base of operations for what has become known as the 'Jenin Brigade' where terror attacks against Israelis have been planned and executed from. The destruction of the roads in the area was to eliminate IEDs that were placed on the asphalt by the militants. The IDF found an explosives laboratory and storage facility hidden under a Mosque in the camp. Despite the Abraham Accords and detente with Israel, the UAE has been critical of Israeli action in Samaria and Judea, however in recent years they have been vocal in condemning Palestinian terror attacks.
