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Apr. 30, 2002
IDF: Palestinians adding bodies from cemetery to Jenin "mass" grave
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp are inflating the number of residents killed during Operation Defensive Shield by adding bodies of residents buried in a local cemetery to a mass grave that contains the bodies of 26 residents killed in the IDF operation, the army said yesterday.
The IDF Spokesman said that Palestinians had begun removing bodies from a cemetery located near the government hospital in the camp to the mass grave, bringing the total number of bodies to 50. In addition, PA officials have instructed residents to refrain from searching for additional bodies buried under rubble in the camp and wait and do so in the presence of the UN fact-finding team due to arrive there.
According to the army, Palestinian officials have paid residents left homeless to rent accommodations in Jenin, but have demanded that they return to the camp and be present during the day when UN personnel visit. Residents have also refrained from repairing structures damaged in the camp, at the request of PA officials. They have been instructed to erase any militant symbols and hide weapons, and refrain from taking any militant action while the UN teams are present.
The army noted that 70 camp residents who were present in the camp during the IDF operation and were unharmed have said they will refrain from going to the camp or carrying out any militant activities until the UN team leaves the area.
The IDF noted that since its pullout from the camp, 21 innocent residents have been wounded by explosive devices planted by Palestinian terrorists during the IDF operation. In addition, residents protesting US support for Israel have refused to accept American aid packages delivered to the camp.
A senior Hamas official in the Jenin refugee camp, Jamal Abdel Salam Heija, declared the movement would continue �resisting the Israeli occupation.� Heija told Reuters �if the Israelis believe they eradicated the terrorist infrastructure of resistance here, they are wrong. Despite our losses, it will rise from these ashes stronger then ever before.�
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