Jenin Camp "Ambush mechanism of the occupation army, which occurred in the center of the city of Jenin, is the one that changed the course of the battle," these words began the fighter "N. N." speaking to Al Jazeera Net about the details of the battle "Bass Jenin" fought by the fighters of the camp battalion and lasted more than 48 hours.
The battalion's fighters were able to blow up an Israeli military vehicle in the center of Jenin and on the street known as Cinema Street in the center of the city, while the occupation mechanisms were trying to retreat from the Jenin camp to reposition, and an officer in the occupation army was killed in the ambush – which was carried out by detonating a homemade device – whom Israel directly admitted to killing.
"N.N.", one of the fighters who participated in the battle of "Bass Jenin" until the last moments, said: "Before the occupation announced the start of the withdrawal, a military force was moving on the cinema street, and of course we had planted a number of explosive devices on that street, and thanks to God, one of the devices exploded in one of the army vehicles and directly hit all the soldiers who were inside, and an officer was killed instantly."
He added that if all the planted devices exploded, the entire unity of the occupation would have been destroyed, stressing that the outcome and timing of the ambush forced the occupation to change its withdrawal plan and to rush to announce the withdrawal of forces from the camp and its outskirts.
An observation point belonging to the Jenin battalion after it was bombed by Israeli warplanes (Al-Jazeera)
New methods of fighting
Israel began a military operation in the Jenin camp at dawn on Monday with large forces and supported by aircraft and bulldozers, and Israeli planes bombed targets it claimed were the headquarters of the Palestinian resistance in the camp, the largest military operation carried out by Israel against the camp since its invasion in 2002.
However, the Jenin Brigade and the rest of the Palestinian resistance factions, which called this operation "Bass Jenin", confirm that the occupation forces left the camp without achieving any of the goals for which they claimed to start the operation, as evidenced by the fact that the number of martyrs among the fighters did not exceed 3 fighters only.
"The threat of the occupation to assassinate a number of resistance fighters who participated in external operations in other Palestinian governorates was clear, and we were aware of it, but what happened on the battlefield is that these resisters came out unscathed and we did not lose any of them, thank God," N.N. said.
The Jenin battalion fighter explained the details of the two-day battle, in which the occupation forces used heavy equipment and weapons, in addition to shelling a number of sites inside the camp and at its borders: "In the hours preceding the battle, we monitored intensive movements of large forces of occupation soldiers at some checkpoints and points surrounding Jenin."
There is no fear for the people of #جنين and its women like its men they fight with everything they have ✌️
Long live Jenin free and proud #جنين_البطولة #ملياريه_لنصرة_المصحف #التطبيع_خيانة pic.twitter.com/kyLjwuUSxq
— Fatmah Alshaikh (@Fatmah_alshikh) July 5, 2023
"There were reports that Israel intended to carry out a military operation on the ground of the camp. Of course, the fighters took their preparations and positions, and the withdrawal from the Rabat and observation points began, and the main point in the center of the camp remained next to the Jenin club, on which the first rocket fell, and the martyr Samih Abu al-Wafa was martyred."
N.N. confirmed that the battle began with the participation of all factions and the command of a joint operations room, but the greatest reliance was on the Jenin battalion, which provided financial support, equipment and equipment to the fighters, and all its young men participated in the fighting.
He explained that after the shelling of the main observation post, direct clashes with the occupation forces began, "and we started hitting the hand grenades called 'elbows' in addition to detonating the IEDs, and our method was based on detonating a device with a mechanism and then directly attacking them with bullets."
Past Experiences
The Jenin battalion and its fighters benefited from the combat experience in the 2002 invasion, so the expectation of bulldozers entering the camp was present for the resistance and the residents, in addition to the method of occupation at that time to exhaust the resistance by demolishing and bulldozing houses. Fighters say this led to an end to resistance in the camp for 20 years before returning with more sophisticated and knowledgeable experiences and methods.
"Four hours after the battle began, we started calling through mosque headphones and wireless devices for camp residents to take to the streets, in order to relieve pressure on the resistance youth," N.N. said. In fact, in the early hours, the losses of the resistance were zero, and all that was bombed was only 4 observation posts."
"New groups were formed and repositioned after a number of resisters from outside the camp joined, and the resisters were distributed to 20 groups, each headed by one of them to facilitate movement between them," he said.
During the first 24 hours, the Israeli occupation forces had great pressure in terms of shelling on the camp and destruction in the streets and alleys, and the occupation forces had begun to move around the camp by digging houses on each other and moving from house to house in search of the resistance fighters who changed their places and surprised the occupation by fighting from outside the camp and on the adjacent areas.
Exit from camp
The Palestinian resistance confirmed that their exit from the camp took place on Tuesday night, more than 24 hours after the battle, and not as the leadership of the occupation army is trying to market that the resistance fighters left the camp from the first moment.
"On Tuesday at ten o'clock, Israel allowed the residents to leave the camp, and informed the residents of their intention to bomb the houses, which helped a large number of young resistance fighters to leave the camp and leave it," he said. Of course, they left the camp to complete the resistance plan in the external attack on the occupation forces and its mechanisms, which they did."
"A large number of resistance fighters remained in the camp, especially those who were put on the assassination list by Israel until the last minute, including me," he said.
Popular incubator
The resistance in Jenin praises the popular incubator of the people of the camp who opened their homes to her and allowed her to move in during the battle, in addition to supporting the resistance before and during the battle, and the resisters confirm that the people of the camp had great credit for the success of the resistance and steadfastness, they repeated the sacrifice of 2002.
N.N. says that the battalion expects Israel to carry out assassinations in the near future, especially since the occupation army has not officially announced the end of the military operation, but the resistance is currently seeking to rebuild its equipment again to preserve the safety and lives of its fighters, he said.
Palestinian Resistance Positions Behind Sand Bags (Al Jazeera)
N.N. summarizes the reasons for victory by the number of ambushes in which the resistance directly hit the occupation mechanisms, causing losses in their ranks that the occupation did not announce as usual.
"But we saw their direct hit, and the resistance fighters were able to reach points outside the camp where they surprised the soldiers and clashed with them, in addition to the ability to provide a way to keep drones away from our points of presence inside the battle, and to mislead the snipers stationed in the tall buildings around the camp by extending heavy pieces of plastic between houses, which we call (streets)," he added.
Israel's two-day military operation on Monday killed 12 people and wounded more than 120, including 20 critically.