Five years have elapsed since the battle and massacre in Jenin Refugee Camp. The memories and scars live on in the northern West Bank where a mother is still searching for the body of her disabled son, Jamal Al Fayad. He was buried, as so many were, under the debris of the hundreds of houses destroyed by American-made bulldozers, F-16s and Apache helicopters.Five years have elapsed since the battle and massacre in Jenin Refugee Camp. The memories and scars live on in the northern West Bank where a mother is still searching for the body of her disabled son, Jamal Al Fayad. He was buried, as so many were, under the debris of the hundreds of houses destroyed by American-made bulldozers, F-16s and Apache helicopters.
Israeli forces would not allow Jamal’s family to get him out of the house before the bulldozer plowed through, despite his mother screaming for it to stop.
The days and weeks following the April 2002 devastation brought hundreds of people digging through the rubble, searching for bodies. “We were expelled from our homes and my son, who was born with disabilities, could not move without help. They killed him in cold blood.” All attempts failed to save her son Jamal. His brother Khalid Al Fayed, whose body was found, was also killed.
Aisha Badawi is still crying day and night over the fate of her son, Mohammed Badawi. Islamic Jihad declared him as one of the martyrs of the camp, which his mother said should make her proud. “But we have not found any trace of Mohammed.”
Aisha said that the Israeli shelling and missile fire into the houses and neighborhoods intensified on the fourth day. Mohammed was at a neighbors house, but never returned home. “We learned that he was injured by missile shrapnel and was treated by a local doctor because the occupation forces surrounded the camp and prevented cars and ambulance crews from entering or from transporting anyone to the hospitals for treatment.” There is a hospital at one of the entrances to the camp which was blocked by Israeli tanks.
Aisha Badawi continued to say that her son remained in the neighbor’s house after the others had left, “but when we went there we found the house in which he sought protection destroyed.” She said, “We removed the rubble and did not find him.” Her son is still missing.
