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"Life" in the Jenin refugee camp

Gideon Levy, writing in Haaretz, has been a stern critic of Israel's policies in relation to the Palestinians and Gaza and the West Bank. He has been a gad-fly for a considerable time.

Now he has done something few people, let alone Israelis, have - staying overnight in the Jenin refugee camp. Levy wanted to see for himself what things are like:

"Tonight you should not be a journalist, tonight you should be a poet," says our host Jamal Zbeidi, as soon as we arrive. It's early evening, and a dull dusky light enveloped the homes in the camp, while a pleasant breeze caressed the faces of the children playing outside. The Jenin refugee camp is getting ready for the night. The television is tuned to Al-Aqsa, the Hamas station in Gaza. Into the house strides our old acquaintance, Zakariya Zbeidi. He had seen our car and wants to say hello. Wearing a Kenvelo T-shirt, and for the first time walking around without a weapon, he is on his way to the Muqata in Ramallah, where he spends his nights, according to an arrangement worked out with Israel. Now he is a student, majoring in social work."

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