Israeli forces number Palestinian women’s hands during Jenin invasion
Submitted by
Fayha Shalash
on
Wed, 04/15/2026 - 08:34
Women permitted to briefly return to homes under military escort describe harassment, strip searches and devastation across the camp
Israeli forces marked Palestinian women with numbers on their hands before allowing them to briefly enter and check their homes on 13 April (Instagram/@raya.orouq/screenshot)
Off
Israeli forces marked dozens of Palestinian women with numbers on their hands during their ongoing invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday.
Troops allowed around 120 women to enter the camp to inspect their homes and retrieve belongings, under strict security measures.
The women, along with nearly 40,000 Palestinians, have been forcibly expelled by Israeli forces from Jenin and other camps in the northern West Bank following a military offensive that began in January 2025.
The invasion has left much of the camps in ruins, while large areas remain inaccessible, with troops permanently stationed there.
The 120 women were allowed into the camp for less than two hours, much of which was spent undergoing searches and waiting under heavy military surveillance, while following predetermined routes.
During searches before entry, soldiers wrote numbers and letters on the women’s hands to categorise them.
“They numbered our hands according to the neighbourhood where our homes are located,” Um Fadi Wahdan, one of the women, told Middle East Eye.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by راية عروق (@raya.orouq)
She and others said they arrived at the camp entrance after being informed they could enter in the morning, only to face lengthy searches and harassment.
Soldiers forced them to stand in the sun for three hours and deliberately altered neighbourhood markings, further delaying entry, Wahdan said.
‘I wish I hadn’t gone’
The visit had a devastating impact on the women, as the scale of destruction left them unable to recognise their homes or neighbourhoods. Streets had been reduced to rubble, with sewage pooling in the open.
“I went to the Wahdan neighbourhood where my house is. I was shocked to find it completely burned down, all five storeys. I wish I hadn’t gone,” Wahdan said.
She added that she searched for anything inside her home, which had housed more than 30 people, but found only ashes. She left empty-handed, overwhelmed by grief.
“I found nothing. All the floors are blackened, and everything is burned. I left with nothing, and I wish I hadn’t gone.
“The visit reopened our wounds and renewed pain that had begun to subside,” she said.
Israeli soldiers man the entrance to Jenin refugee camp as Palestinian women queue to enter and check their homes on 13 April 2026 (MEE/Mohammed Atiq)
Beyond the destruction of her home, Wahdan said the entire camp had changed.
Streets were filled with overflowing sewage, dozens of houses had been turned into military barracks, and filth was everywhere. Many homes had been demolished, while others were burned.
The visit also reopened older wounds for Wahdan, whose son Saeed was killed by Israeli forces in August 2024 when his vehicle was bombed.
Israel has also detained one of her sons for seven years, while Palestinian Authority security forces have held another.
This is the second time the Israeli army has permitted such an exceptional visit. On 8 July 2025, 25 Palestinian women were allowed to enter the camp to retrieve some of their belongings.
Strip searches
Like Wahdan, Abeer al-Sabbagh, 60, was notified shortly before the visit that her name was on the list of those permitted to enter. She rushed to the camp with her sister-in-law.
She said female soldiers carried out strip searches on all the women, describing the practice as deliberately humiliating and psychologically damaging.
'There isn’t a single house left fit for habitation'
- Abeer al-Sabbagh, Palestinian displaced from Jenin
“When I learned there would be a strip search, I told the female soldier I wanted to leave, that I didn’t want to continue the visit. She told me that even if I wanted to leave, I would still be subjected to the search,” Sabbagh told MEE.
“It was indecent, especially since there were women in their twenties among us, and we didn’t know if there were hidden cameras,” she added.
The searches took place in a house belonging to the Nafaa family near the camp entrance.
Soldiers had seized the property and converted it into a military post after destroying its furniture and contents and heavily damaging the interior.
Israeli forces bombed Sabbagh’s home in 2023, killing three people inside. She was forced to flee the camp at the time with her elderly mother, who has since died far from their home.
The home is in the Jorat al-Dahab neighbourhood, and Sabbagh was the only resident from that area allowed to enter.
When she approached, she saw dozens of soldiers and military vehicles, became frightened, and turned back.
“There isn’t a single house left fit for habitation,” she said.
Occupation
Ramallah, occupied Palestine
News
Post Date Override
0
Update Date
Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19
Update Date Override
0