Cape Town - After Israel’s large-scale air and ground offensive at the Jenin Refugee Camp, causing already displaced families to flee and several injuries, local solidarity organisations and individuals flew the Palestinian flag as they gathered for a vigil and protest in Sea Point.
Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) Cape Town, the “vigil” took place at the Sea Point Promenade, yesterday.
PSC spokesperson Usuf Chikte said: “The Vigil for Jenin is emblematic of the ongoing Nakba and genocide of Palestinians at the bloody hands of Apartheid Israel. This crime against humanity is enabled by South African Zionists, an extreme, anti-Palestinian racist network, supporting Israeli state terror and settler pogroms against defenceless Palestinians in refugee camps trapped under illegal occupation under the jackboot of Israeli fascism.”
Some of the demands collectively made include: Declaring the Israeli ambassador in Pretoria persona non grata and severing all diplomatic relations; isolate Israel through boycott, divestment and sanctions; the National Prosecuting Authority to expedite cases of South Africans serving in the IDF in contravention of the African Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act; and for the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to implement a policy for a sporting and cultural boycott.
The attack on Jenin is considered one of the worst in the occupied West Bank in 20 years. Roads leading to the camp had been bulldozed by Israeli forces, hampering efforts by medical personnel to reach the injured.
Israeli teargas canisters landed close to healthcare facilities in Jenin city. Israel’s reasoning for the attack was to target “terrorists and terrorist infrastructure”.
Women’s Legal Centre director Seehaam Samaai said: “Established in 1953, the Jenin refugee camp was created to shelter Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their homes following the establishment of Israel in 1948. The camp’s history is a testament to the enduring struggle faced by the Palestinian people, as they continue to fight for their right to self-determination and reclaim what was unjustly taken from them.”
As of 2022, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) listed 23 628 registered refugees in the camp.
UNRWA says Jenin experiences one of the highest rates of unemployment and poverty among the 19 West Bank refugee camps.
In a statement released on Wednesday, UNRWA said its staff were allowed to enter for the first time, after Israeli armed forces withdrew from the camp following 48 hours of ground presence.
“The team saw colossal damage to the camp’s infrastructure, including to its roads and water network. The UNRWA health centre in the camp sustained extensive damage; the road to the UNRWA school was impassable. During the operation, 3 000 people fled, 140 were injured (20 critically) and 13 were killed, including four children.”
Meanwhile, the South African Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS) Coalition has strongly called on Orlando Pirates to refrain from playing a club friendly (match) against Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club, scheduled to take place on July 13 in Spain.