- Title: Displaced Palestinians in Jenin say no Eid spirit away from home
- Date: 30th March 2025
- Summary: JENIN, WEST BANK (MARCH 30, 2025) (REUTERS) LAUNDRY OF DISPLACED PALESTINIANS FROM JENIN REFUGEE CAMP AT SHELTER VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PALESTINIAN, NATHMI ABU JOHAR, AT SHELTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED PALESTINIAN, NATHMI ABU JOHAR, SAYING: "For us, Eid is when we go back to our homes in Jenin refugee camp, this is our Eid. As far as we are away from our camp and rela
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Eid al-Fitr Israel Jenin Palestinians West Bank celebration children displacement holiday military operation occuption refugee camp
- Location: JENIN, WEST BANK
- City: JENIN, WEST BANK
- Country: Palestinian Occupied Territory
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Middle East
- Reuters ID: LVA001283530032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Displaced Palestinians said on Sunday (March 30) they don't feel the spirit of Eid due to their displacement from their homes in the Jenin refugee camp during an Israeli military operation which started in January 2025.
"For us, Eid is when we go back to our homes in Jenin refugee camp, this is our Eid. As far as we are away from our camp and relatives and sons and brothers and neighbours, it is hard to feel the spirit of Eid," said Nathmi Abu Johar, 52, a father of four, from the shelter where he is staying with another 22 families.
On the first day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, Halimeh Zawaydeh, said the celebrations were for children only. "It is only for the children, but for us there is no Eid, people are not happy, they are with broken hearts," she said.
Israeli bulldozers have demolished large areas of the now virtually empty Jenin refugee camp and appear to be carving wide roadways through its once-crowded warren of alleyways, echoing tactics already employed in Gaza as troops prepare for a long-term stay.
At least 40,000 Palestinians have left their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank since Israel began its operation just a day after reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza after 15 months of war.
Israel launched the operation, saying it intended to take on Iranian-backed militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad that have been firmly implanted in the refugee camps for decades, despite repeated Israeli attempts to root them out.
But as the weeks have gone on, Palestinians have said the real intention appears to be a large scale, permanent displacement of the population by destroying homes and making it impossible for them to stay.
(Production: Raneen Sawafta, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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