Militants and mourners attend the funeral of two Palestinians, Jawad Tourky and Aysar Ameer who were killed in an Israeli raid, in Jenin Camp, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
Militants and mourners attend the funeral of two Palestinians, Jawad Tourky and Aysar Ameer who were killed in an Israeli raid, in Jenin Camp, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
Militants and mourners attend the funeral of two Palestinians, Jawad Tourky and Aysar Ameer who were killed in an Israeli raid, in Jenin Camp, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters
Militants and mourners attend the funeral of two Palestinians, Jawad Tourky and Aysar Ameer who were killed in an Israeli raid, in Jenin Camp, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters

'We know our destiny': Islamic Jihad fighters in Jenin say they do not fear death


  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Abu Hadid, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter, sits on a plush white and gold sofa and fiddles with a home-made bomb.

Black gunpowder spills out of the small cylinder-like device as he turns it over in his tattooed hands.

Abu Hadid, 24, shows little concern about the risks of the bomb detonating, jokingly telling his two friends, Mahmoud and Bader, who are also members of the militant group, not to smoke their home-made cigarettes near the device.

Abu Hadid, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member poses for a photo. Willy Lowry / The National
Abu Hadid, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member poses for a photo. Willy Lowry / The National

They were keen to show off their M-16 assault rifles, although they were not to hand as the trio did not feel the need to be armed in the midafternoon sun.

The three men live in Jenin refugee camp, an area that has been the focus of much of Israel’s military raids in the occupied West Bank over the past several decades.

In July, Israel raided the camp, killing at least 12 people in what was the largest operation in 20 years. The morning after Thursday's visit by The National, Israel conducted another raid.

A mural of Palestine in the Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank. Willy Lowry / The National
A mural of Palestine in the Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank. Willy Lowry / The National

In the nearly three weeks since Hamas launched its surprise attack on southern Israel, in which the militant group killed about 1,400 people, the Israeli military has hit the camp with air strikes, killing several people.

In Gaza, more than 7,000 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli attacks, while more than 100 people have been killed in the occupied West Bank.

"Jenin has not calmed down once in two years ... the camp is Israel's main obstacle," says Saleh Eshraim, the father of Yousef Eshraim, commander of Al Ayyash Brigade in Jenin.

"If they attack Jenin, Israel will see terror attacks in Tel Aviv [such as] happened on Dizengoff Street."

The attack Eshraim was referring to took place in March. One person was killed and two others injured.

"The battalion here is ready to defend its people, as are the camp's women and children," he says.

He spoke under a tarpaulin designed to block the view of Israeli drones. The dashboard of the car in which he arrived was festooned with pictures of those killed by Israel.

Back in the ornate sitting room, this latest round of fighting has captured the attention of Abu Hadid and his friends.

Death is forced upon us all our lives – we know our destiny
Abu Hadid,
a Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter

The three men have spent their whole lives in the camp, surrounded by posters of killed fighters and the physical and emotional scars of Israel’s occupation.

Their phones are filled with gruesome pictures of friends killed by the Israeli military.

One showed the body of a man their age, blood pooled around his head. Rigor mortis had set in, fixing a wide smile on his face. The three fighters say it shows death is not to be feared.

"Death is forced upon us all our lives – we know our destiny," Abu Hadid says.

"Any young boy in the camp says they want to be a martyr, even if they don't fully understand what it is to be one.

"When children play on the streets together, one side is Palestinians and the other Israel. They shoot each other with toy guns."

Posters of dead Palestinian fighters line the wall of cemetery in Jenin. Willy Lowry / The National
Posters of dead Palestinian fighters line the wall of cemetery in Jenin. Willy Lowry / The National

With few job prospects and little freedom of movement, Jenin has become a cauldron of violent opposition, fuelled by regular military raids and an ever-growing list of young men cut down before having a chance to live their lives.

Even an unborn baby cannot pull Abu Hadid away from his desire to take up arms and defend the camp from Israeli raids.

"When my son is born, he will dream for the same martyrdom as me, and follow my same steps," he says.

Amid all this talk of death, the men have still not lost their sense of humour. Abu Hadid garners laughter from the room, marked by bullet holes in the wall, before switching to broken English.

Reminders of death are everywhere. Bullet casings litter the streets of the camp and shallow dents in buildings from Israeli guns have not been plastered over.

At a local cemetery, blood smears the pavement, evidence of a recent Israeli air strike earlier that killed four people.

Tarpaulins hang across the narrow warren of streets, a crude attempt to prevent Israeli drones from seeing what is happening on the ground.

At one corner, an explosive device made up from propane canisters and a tripwire attached to a large metal object blocks the entrance of a street.

A boobytrapped road block at the entrance of street in Jenin refuge camp. Willy Lowry / The National
A boobytrapped road block at the entrance of street in Jenin refuge camp. Willy Lowry / The National

As the Israel-Gaza war enters perhaps its most violent and bloody chapter, with the prospect of a ground invasion into the enclave and violence in the West Bank and Israel's northern border, there is a sense among the young men in Jenin camp that the worst is yet to come.

During a visit earlier in the year, one of the many cemeteries in the camp was only three quarters full. On Thursday, there was no space left.

The area that previously stood empty was blooming with plants on mounds of earth at freshly dug graves. The smell of basil wafts over some of them.

Tarpaulins were erected over the new graves to give shade to friends, family and fellow fighters as they mourn and – as is so extremely the case in Jenin – ponder and make peace with the possibility that they soon could be in graves of their own.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWomen%E2%80%99s%20race%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Tigist%20Ketema%20(ETH)%202hrs%2016min%207sec%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Ruti%20Aga%20(ETH)%202%3A18%3A09%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dera%20Dida%20(ETH)%202%3A19%3A29%0D%3Cbr%3EMen's%20race%3A%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Addisu%20Gobena%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A01%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lemi%20Dumicha%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A20%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20DejeneMegersa%20(ETH)%202%3A05%3A42%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)

The low down

Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films

Director: Namrata Singh Gujral

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark

Rating: 2/5

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Updated: October 27, 2023, 2:34 PM