19 years ago today, the US green-lighted the Israeli military invasion of the West Bank as part of Operation Defensive Shield. The Israeli military engaged in widespread torture, used civilians as human shields, fired on ambulances, arrested thousands & killed nearly 500.
Operation Defensive Shield was the largest military offensive against Palestinian civilians since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and destroyed much of Palestinian economic and social infrastructure & leveled large swathes of residential area.
The Israeli military used the most lethal weaponry it had, including: Merkava tanks, as well as US-supplied Apache attack helicopters and F-15 fighter jets. The operation killed at least 55 children (half of whom died from live fire) & injured 342 more children.
On April 3, 2002, the IDF launched a major military operation into Jenin refugee camp, home to 14,000 Palestinian refugees. At least 22 civilians were killed during the IDF attack on Jenin.
In one instance, a 57 year-old Kamal Zghair, a wheelchair-bound man, was shot and then run over by IDF tanks as he was moving in his wheelchair--equipped with a white flag.
A 37 year-old quadriplegic, Jamal Fayid, was crushed to death in the rubble of his home after IDF soldiers refused to allow his family to remove him before a bulldozer destroyed it. IDF helicopters fired wildly into the camp, striking many houses inhabited only by civilians.
The IDF blocked emergency medical access to Jenin camp for much of the operation & repeatedly fired on Red Crescent ambulances, killing a uniformed nurse.
IDF soldiers used Palestinian civilians to shield themselves from Palestinian fire, and an estimated at least 4,500 Palestinian civilians, including children, were arrested & held without charge during the operation.
Israel also implemented widespread use of torture against those it detained. They used exposure to extremes temperatures, sleep deprivation, the requirement to remain in an enforced position for extended periods, intense psychological pressure, and the Palestinian Chair.
The Bush administration responded to the operation by providing an extra $100 million in military assistance to Israel in September of 2002.