Alleged Jenin Massacre
(May contain a spoiler)
A key plot point in the movie concerns what is labelled "the Jenin massacre." Not remembering the specific incident, I went out to Wikipedia. The following is from the Wikipedia article on Jenin:
In 1996, Israel handed over control of the city to the Palestinian National Authority in keeping with the Oslo Accords. Known to Palestinians as "the martyrs' capital", the camp's militants, some 200 armed men, included members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Tanzim, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.[14][15] By Israel's count, at least 28 suicide bombers were dispatched from the Jenin camp from 2000–2003 during the Second Intifada.[14] Israeli army weekly Bamahane attributes at least 31 militant attacks, totaling 124 victims, to Jenin during the same period, more than any other city in the West Bank.[16]
During the al-Aqsa Intifada, Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield with the stated aim of dismantling terrorist infrastructure so as to curb suicide bombings and other militant activities. The army encircled and entered six major Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, among them Jenin. During the Battle of Jenin in April 2002, 23 Israeli soldiers and 52 Palestinians, including militants[17][18], were killed.[19] Human Rights Watch reported that the refugee camp, which was the major battleground, suffered extensive damage. Israel, however, said that the numbers and details given by HRW were exaggerations.[20]
Of particular interest is note 19, which references the following BBC story (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2165272.stm ) discussing the UN report:
Thursday, 1 August, 2002, 14:47 GMT 15:47 UK
UN says no massacre in Jenin
A United Nations investigation has rejected claims that hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed in Israel's attack on the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin.
In a report released on Thursday the UN said the overall number of Palestinians killed was 52 - around half of whom may have been civilians - while Israel lost 23 soldiers there.
The report also criticises both Palestinians and Israelis for putting civilians in harm's way.
The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said the report's aim of finding out exactly what happened in Jenin had been blocked by Israel's decision to refuse access to UN investigators.
A Palestinian official has rejected the UN's conclusions, insisting that a massacre took place.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has welcomed the findings, saying the report "clears up misconceptions" about events in Jenin.
...
"A senior Palestinian Authority official alleged in mid-April that some 500 (Palestinians) were killed, a figure that has not been substantiated in the light of the evidence that has emerged," the report says.
The actual UN report can be found at: http://www.un.org/peace/jenin/
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