Jenin has become the most famous (or infamous) city in this region in the past year because of the much publicized battle that resulted in the destruction of much of Jenin Camp, a refugee camp located on the outskirts of Jenin city.  I was interested to learn more about Jenin. How have months of curfews and military action affected the city and its inhabitants?


On September 4, I had the opportunity to visit Jenin with some other English teachers at my university and two university employees who were our guides because they live in Jenin.  At first it seemed like the trip would never happen due to all-day curfews (for an explanation of curfews, click here ) over the past week.  As it turned out, the day we went was perfect.  For that entire day (before 6 p.m.), there were no Israeli tanks or  troops in Jenin, and the people of the city were out en masse to buy food and supplies that they had not been able to get for the past week of curfews.  The streets were packed with people shopping and enjoying being outside for a change.  The next day the all-day curfews were reinstated, so we got in on the perfect day. 



We spent the day driving around the city, stopping at various shops to buy stuff for our apartments.  The most amazing thing to me was the general destruction of the city itself.    The roads were dusty and littered with debris, and covered with tank tracks rutted into them from the many tanks that had driven over the streets.  These pictures show the type of damage that tanks can do without even firing a shot, just by by driving through a city.




But there definitely were shots fired.  As we drove down one of the main streets, I could see bullet holes in store windows and restaurants that lined the main street.  This restaurant has really taken a beating from Israeli firing. 







Even the large mosque in the city center had its windows broken out by bullets.  As you can see, it is in the process of being repaired, but the people never know if it will be damaged again.  Since there is shooting in Jenin's streets daily, it's always a possibiliy.  









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The government sector of the city was also quite a sight because it is now mostly a ruin.  This former police station had been reduced to rubble, and other buildings around were not much better.  Makes it difficult for the Palestinian Authority to enforce any kind of law here.  In Jenin the primary law now is Israeli army martial law.     








After buying some towels and kitchen utensils that I needed (yes I do try to cook, although it’s not always successful!), we went to a restaurant to have felafel sandwiches for lunch (one of my favorite foods here).  The first sight when we entered the restaurant was the display counter filled with bullet holes.  It must be difficult to run a business when you do not know from day to day if your business will be damaged or destroyed.  I was glad that this place was still open, because the felafel was excellent!  







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After a great lunch we went back to shopping.  But first we stopped for a special Palestinian dessert called kanafa.  It is kind of like baklava, very rich and sweet.  They actually make it in a separate restaurant that sells only kanafe.  This guy had just brought a fresh batch out of the oven.  Delicious!  







During our shopping spree I happened upon this billboard and thought it was really funny.  It's not often that I see an ad for Uncle Ben's rice anywhere.  I have never seen one with Uncle Ben's sharing the spotlight with the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem!  






After a couple more hours of shopping, we were getting tired.  Naser (one of our guides) expressed our condition well in this picture.  It was time to go back.  
 






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So we started to head back to the university to beat the 6 p.m. curfew.  On the way out we drove through an industrial sector and saw the results of some of the recent Israeli military activity.  A whole section of mechanics’ shops had been torn up.  Doors were ripped off their hinges and debris was everywhere.  A telling example of how the Israeli army destroys the Palestinian "terrorist infrastructure."  Sometimes they find the bomb factories, and sometimes they don't.  But the buildings always get destroyed, and it is the people who suffer.
 

On that note, my Internet Service Provider here in Palestine just received a similar visit from the Israeli army, and this was the result.  There is no way to recover lost money or damaged property.  They can only cut their losses and move on.  If you want to see more pictures of the destruction of this office, click here.