Remembering "Operation Defensive Shield"
The U.S.-backed IOF engaged in widespread torture, used civilians as human shields, fired on ambulances, arrested thousands and killed nearly 500 people.
From Friendly Neighborhood Comrade:
On this day in 2002, the U.S. green-lighted the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) invasion of the occupied West Bank as part of "Operation Defensive Shield." The IOF engaged in widespread torture, used civilians as human shields, fired on ambulances, arrested thousands and killed nearly 500 people.
"Operation Defensive Shield" was at the time the largest military offensive against Palestinian civilians since 1948 and destroyed much of Palestinian economic and social infrastructure, leveling large swathes of residential area.
The IOF used the most powerful weaponry it had, including: Merkava tanks, as well as U.S.-supplied Apache attack helicopters and F-15 fighter jets. The operation killed at least 55 children and more than 342 children were injured.
On April 3, 2002, the IOF launched a major "military operation into Jenin refugee camp," home to 14,000 Palestinian refugees. At least 50 people were killed during the IOF attack on Jenin, and 13,000 people were made homeless as a result.
In one instance, a 57 year-old Kamal Zghair, a wheelchair-bound man, was shot and then run over by IOF tanks as he was moving in his wheelchair--equipped with a white flag.
In the above photo, a neighbor holds the white flag that was attached to the wheelchair of fifty-seven-year-old Kamal Zghair. On April 10, Kamal Zghair was attempting to reach the gas station where he slept when he was shot and killed by an Israeli tank. His body and wheelchair were then run over by the tank.
A 37 year-old quadriplegic, Jamal Fayid, was killed under the rubble of his home after the IOF refused to allow his family to remove him before a bulldozer destroyed it. IOF helicopters fired wildly into the camp, striking many houses inhabited by residents.
The IOF blocked emergency medical access to Jenin camp for much of the operation and repeatedly fired on Red Crescent ambulances, killing a uniformed nurse.
The IOF used Palestinian civilians as human shields and an estimated 4,500 Palestinian civilians, including children, were arrested and held without charge during the operation.
The entity also implemented widespread use of torture against those it detained. They used exposure to extremes temperatures, sleep deprivation, the requirement to remain in an enforced position for extended periods, and intense psychological pressure.
The Bush administration responded to the operation by providing an extra $100 million in military assistance to Israel in September of 2002.
For more information, check out the 2002 documentary “Jenin, Jenin”: