| Dateline 9/9/2011, but this exerpt is useful as background, I think. |
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
in 2002 during the last Intifada, or uprising, Jenin camp today challenges the picture of a West Bank prospering under the Paleostinian Authority, the Western-backed and internationally-funded government.
Young men who fought in the last uprising have since emerged from Israeli prisons to bleak prospects. Their local standing as heroes has not helped them to find work. They hold the PA responsible and say their anger is growing.
In Jenin camp, locals say small groups of masked men have reappeared in the streets, reviving memories of lawless armed gangs that roamed here during the last Intifada.
Israel's military response led to a 10-day assault in 2002 known among Paleostinians as the 'Battle of Jenin'.
Today, tighter restrictions on access to Israel mean its labor market remains cut off to many. Veterans of the fighting also complain that the PA has failed to offer them employment.