JENIN

Palestinian city in the West Bank.

Jenin (also Janin) is one of three Palestinian towns (the others being Nablus and Tulkarm) that formed the "Triangle" region of north-central Palestine. The city was noted in history for the bounty of its agriculture, particularly fruits and vegetables. Both the Ottomans and the British made Jenin the administrative center of an administrative sub-governorate bearing its name as well.

The Arab–Israel War (1948) changed the town's fortunes drastically. It was noteworthy for the fact that, although the Haganah captured Jenin briefly in June 1948, it quickly withdrew after fighting with Palestinian and Iraqi forces. The eventual cease-fire lines left the city within the Jordanian-controlled West Bank, and cut it off from the traditional markets for its agricultural exports to the north and west, in what now had become Israel. Beyond this, the war caused the population to increase from 3,990 in 1945 to 10,000 as Palestinian refugees swelled the town's ranks. From June 1967 until November 1995, Jenin lay under Israeli military occupation until it came under the control of the Palestinian Authority. By 1997, Jenin's population stood at 26,650.

During the al-Aqsa Intifada that began in 2000, the Israeli army reoccupied parts of the city on several occasions. The eleven-day Israeli assault on the nearby Jenin refugee camp in April 2002, populated by some 10,000 refugees, devastated the camp. The destruction prompted international outrage, and "Jenin" became a symbol of the violence of the second Intifada.

see also aqsa intifada, al-; arab–israel war (1948); west bank.

Bibliography

Fischbach, Michael R. "Jenin." In Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, edited by Philip Mattar. New York: Facts On File, 2000.

michael r. fischbach