UAE pledges $15M to help rebuild Jenin after devastating Israeli raid

The United Arab Emirates has pledged to give $15 million to help rebuild the Jenin refugee camp after the most intense Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades.

The UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported on Thursday that the money would be granted to UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinian refugees, to rebuild damaged homes and businesses and for the agency's services.

The funding promise comes after the two-day offensive destroyed the camp’s narrow roads and alleyways. The operation, meant to crack down on Palestinians after a series of recent attacks on Israelis, sent thousands of people fleeing their homes. At least 12 Palestinians lost their lives.

UNRWA said some of its own facilities, including the windows and walls of a health centre and the road leading up its school, sustained damage.

At a donor conference last month, UNRWA fundraising fell short of the $300 million it said was necessary to continue assisting Palestinians, with countries pledging just $107 million. The shortfall came even after the United Nations chief said UNRWA "is on the verge of financial collapse."

Israel's fierce incursion this week saw bulldozers tearing through streets to clear a path for the hundreds of soldiers deployed. Israel withdrew its troops on Wednesday, revealing a scene of destruction.

Roads in the densely populated area of some 24,000 people were chewed up, with piles of broken asphalt, stones and rocks lying on the sides. Cars, some overturned on the sides of roads, were smashed and scorched.

Some of the scenes from Jenin, including massive army bulldozers tearing through camp alleys, were eerily similar to those from a major Israeli incursion in 2002, which lasted for eight days and became known as the battle of Jenin.

The large-scale raid comes amid a more than a year-long spike in violence that has created a challenge for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. His coalition is dominated by ultranationalists who have called for tougher action against Palestinian militants only to see the fighting worsen.

Over 140 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank, and Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis have killed at least 25 people, including a shooting last month that killed four settlers.

Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.