The Battle of Jenin was a battle fought between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian militant groups in the Jenin refugee camp of the West Bank amid Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
Founded in 1953, the Jenin refugee camp came to be home to 13,055 Palestinian refugees, most of them from the Carmel mountains and the region of Haifa. While the influence of Islamist organizations in the camp were considered relatively mild by the IDF, camp militants repelled attempts by the Palestinian Authority to exercise authority in the camp. The camp, nicknamed "the martyrs' capital" by Palsetinians, was used as a base by 200 militants from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Tanzim, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hamas, and, from 2000 to 2003, 28 suicide bombers were dispatched from the Jenin camp during the Second Intifada. Following the 31 March 2002 Matza restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, which killed 16 Israeli civilians and wounded over 40 others, the IDF attributed the attack emanating from Jenin to Hamas, PIJ, and Fatah, and decided to clear Jenin of militants as part of Operation Defensive Shield.
Palestinian militants prepared for the IDF operation by boobytrapping both the town and the camp's streets in a bid to trap Israeli soldiers. Between 1,000 and 2,000 bombs and booby traps were spread throughout the camp, including in 60 old and empty buildings or the homes of men wanted by Israel. Powerful bombs were placed inside trash bins and the cars of wanted men, while smaller bombs were hidden in water bottles. At the start of the operation, the IDF persuaded 11,000 Palestinian civilians to leave the camp, while around 1,200 Palestinians - including fighters - remained in the camp. Israeli forces entered Jenin on 2 April, and, while the city was secured by 3 April, the Israelis engaged in close-quarters urban fighting. The Palestinians underestimated the Israelis, anticipating greater use of Israeli air power and not expecting the Israelis to risk heavier casualties in entering the camp on foot. As the IDF advanced, the Palestinians fell back to the heavily defended Hawashin district at the center of the camp. Israeli helicopters struck Palestinian positions on rooftops, while armored bulldozers widened alleys, cleared paths for tanks, and detonated booby traps. PIJ commander Mahmoud Tawalbe was killed in a failed attempt to bomb an Israeli bulldozer, with the bulldozer ramming a wall down onto him and one of his fighters. The Israelis softened up enemy resistance with antitank fire and extensive use of bulldozers, and soldiers entered the breaches created by their heavy vehicles. The battle ended on 11 April, and international medical teams entered the camp to provide humanitarian aid to the remaining Palestinian refugees. Palestinian media falsely claimed that hundreds of civilians were killed in their homes as they were demolished; however, it was later determined that only 54 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers had died in the fighting.