Foreign diplomats visit the Jenin refugee camp after the Israeli offensive

July 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –

A group of diplomats representing some thirty countries visited the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank this Saturday, the target of a violent Israeli military offensive on Monday that claimed the lives of twelve Palestinians -including four minors- – and caused significant material damage.

The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) –responsible for managing the refugee camp– has invited the delegations to see first-hand the damage caused by the two days of Israeli attacks.

The representative of the EU, Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, has described the situation in Jenin as “painful” and has stressed that it is a violation of International Law. Thus, he has asked to put pressure on Israel to resolve the conflict or, otherwise, “it will be impossible to stop the violence,” according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Von Burgsdorff has directly appealed to Israel to avoid “any more action that causes harm to the civilian population” and has consequences for it, respect International Law in any military operation and investigate allegations of abuse by settlers.

The objective of the visit is to show solidarity with the civilian population of the camp, he explained. This must be “protected under all circumstances”, especially minors and families. He also hopes to make a report on the damage caused and send it to their respective capitals so that they know what has happened in Jenin.

The German diplomatic representative in Ramallah, Oliver Owcza, has highlighted the “obvious need for humanitarian aid and reconstruction” and has opted for a “political perspective” for the conflict.

The name of Finland, Päivi Peltokoski, has also called for “urgent aid for reconstruction and for humanitarian and psychosocial aid”. “Thirteen young men between the ages of 16 and 23 have died. There is no water or electricity”, he has stressed.