Annie Higgins

Language lessons in Jenin



“What language beside Arabic do you see in shop windows in Jenin?” A few boys answered, “Hebrew.” “Yes,” the teacher/ustadh went on, “when there were good relations between Israelis and us, people came from Israel to shop in Jenin. How can they know where to buy something unless they can understand the sign?” Annie Higgins writes about language lessons in Jenin. 

Jenin: the day after Christmas

“The day after Christmas, the Israeli Army has killed six men, one of them from the next village over, Qabatiya. He is Hamza Abu Rubb who was active in Islamic Jihad. The Army’s obvious presence, comprised of tanks and armored personnel carriers, have been less in evidence. However, they are very much here, using Special Forces soldiers disguised as Arabs to track down and arrest or kill men.” Annie Higgins writes from Jenin. 

A Day in the Life of Jenin Refugee Camp

This was the third and final day of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday concluding Ramadan. I awoke at the home of a family where twin sons had been killed on separate occasions in the last two months. The rest of the children make the home boisterous. I heard the cries of Allahu Akbar, the funeral parade for a boy from the neighbouring village of Sili who had been killed the night before. Annie Higgins writes from Jenin Refugee Camp. 

Israel's killing of British citizen Iain Hook, UNRWA's Project Manager in Jenin



“Iain Hook came out of the UN compound waving a blue UN flag, and the Israeli soldiers’ only response was to broadcast with their microphone in English, ‘We don’t care if you are the United Nations or who you are. Fuck off and go home!’ They were trying to go home. Iain said that things were not going well.” Caoimhe Butterly reports from Jenin. 

Update from Jenin

The city and the Refugee Camp breathed more easily when the Israeli Army withdrew from its two-week invasion about a week ago, but everyone knew that the Army would maintain its presence, if slightly less visibly. Annie Higgins writes from Jenin. 

Jenin Today: They Shoot Children, Don't They?

With the high number of Palestinian children killed and injured in the Intifada, Israel has invested considerable time in portraying this as a failure of Palestinian parents to keep their kids away from violence. In this report from Jenin, Annie Higgins notes a more obvious cause — the Israeli tanks and troops that patrol the kids’ routes to school.