Global Policy Forum

By Stewart Bell

The Israeli army admitted yesterday it had destroyed approximately 100 buildings in the city of Jenin and that at least 25 Palestinians -- including civilians -- were killed in the attack, but rejected claims the damage had been wanton and widespread.

A United Nations team that visited the flattened core of Jenin yesterday for the first time since its capture called Israeli military tactics "totally unacceptable" and denounced the government for preventing aid groups from dealing with the humanitarian crisis in the city. "The sight and the stench is horrifying and shocking beyond belief," said Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN special envoy to the Middle East, who estimated 2,000 were left homeless by the damage. "It is as if there has been an earthquake there, it's completely flattened."

From a hill overlooking the Palestinian city, the refugee camp at the centre of Jenin was a crater of partially damaged and demolished buildings, like a giant footprint. But the damage appeared confined to a small sector of the city of 14,000 people that stretches at least four kilometres along a lush valley. An Israeli defence official, angry at reports depicting the city as devastated, stood on the hill and displayed a set of aerial photographs showing that while one neighbourhood lay in ruins, the rest remained largely intact.

"Please take a look. You see a city, it stands. There is an entire city standing in front of you," Colonel Miri Eisin said. "There is destruction. Israel has never denied that there was destruction. We were in the middle of a heavy fight." As the Israeli army prepared to withdraw from West Bank cities, including Jenin, where it met the fiercest resistance of its three-week counterterrorism offensive, international aid groups were getting their first look at the damage and the military was defending itself against reports of atrocities. Jenin was a base for the three main Palestinian terrorist groups -- Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Brigades.

Israeli officials say 28 of the suicide bombers dispatched to kill Israeli civilians since the launch of the Palestinian uprising last year came from Jenin. Palestinian extremists refer to Jenin as "the capital of the suicide bombers." One of the bodies found yesterday appeared to be that of Mahmoud Tawalbeh, the regional leader of Islamic Jihad. He had admitted sending suicide bombers to Israel, among them his younger brother.

When Israeli troops tried to enter the refugee camp at the centre of the city, they were fended off with gunfire, suicide bombers and booby traps. Twenty-three Israeli soldiers died in the battle. To clear the city centre of booby traps, the Israelis demolished dozens of buildings with bulldozers. Palestinians claim some of the homes were destroyed while people were still inside; yesterday, homeless Palestinians dug through the rubble in search of loved ones while the stench of death hung in the air.

UN officials said they had no idea conditions were so bad within the battered area. They said they had seen the crushed body of a 12-year-old boy. Food and water are scarce, they said. The officials pegged the number of destroyed homes at "several hundred" and raised the possibility that people were still alive beneath the rubble.

"I don't think, frankly, we have recognized the scale of the destruction so we are going to have to ratchet up the response to it," said Michael Keating, a UN official travelling with Mr. Roed-Larsen. "Our concern now is to get assistance from Israeli authorities to help us do our work." Advance members of Norwegian and Swiss search-and-rescue teams toured the city yesterday. Two trucks also delivered food and water. There was a chaotic scene as the aid was delivered, after which residents returned inside to comply with a military curfew.

Mr. Roed-Larsen said no matter what the aim of the counterterrorist mission, the methods were not justifiable. "This is not in the security interest of Israel, it is the opposite," he said after touring the devastated camp. What has been produced here is a very strong terrorist infrastructure, because the hatred and the aggression against Israel and Israelis has reached a new peak."

Said Mr. Keating: "I really fail to see how inflicting damage on the civilian population and preventing people from helping them is going to do anything to help security." The Israel Defence Forces disputed the UN claims and said the destruction was necessitated by Palestinian tactics.

In the other five Palestinian cities entered by Israeli forces, militants mostly surrendered. In Jenin, they chose to fight, Col. Eisin said. She insisted the body count was nowhere near the hundreds alleged by Palestinians. She said 25 bodies had been found to date, including two civilians and four wearing explosive belts. Other reports have put the Israeli estimate as high as 70. Jenin hospital director Muhammed Abu Ghali said 36 bodies had been recovered so far.

Col. Eisin acknowledged more bodies may be found as rescue crews dig through the rubble. "We do not think that is the full extent of the bodies but we're talking about low numbers." The incursion netted more than 100 suspected terrorists. Ten of those arrested had already made videotapes pledging to become martyrs for the Palestinian cause by donning suicide vests and blowing themselves up in Israel, Col. Eisin said.

"That's 10 bombs that did not explode in Jerusalem, Haifa," she said. "Every suicide bomber who did not explode in Israel is the success of this operation." Israeli military officials point out that the most efficient way to attack the camp would have been with F-16 fighter jets. Instead, soldiers engaged in far riskier house-to-house urban street fighting, assisted by missiles fired from helicopter gunships.

Jenin has been a closed military area since the battle because it remains unsafe, with booby traps that have not been defused, military officials said. Col. Eisin said that following a brief break in the curfew five days ago, soldiers found 480 new explosive charges had been laid along 1,200 metres of road.

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