The town has a high unemployment rate compared to the rest of the West Bank, and many residents live in substandard shelters, with poor sewage networks and common shortages in water and electricity.

[2] The Oslo Accords, signed at the end of the First Intifada, transferred the control and administration of the camp to the then-newly established Palestinian National Authority (PA).

In April 2002, after a string of Palestinian suicide attacks, Israeli forces entered the camp as part of Operation Defensive Shield, commencing the Battle of Jenin.

[18] The Jenin camp is located in Area A of the West Bank, which is under de jure civil and security control by the Palestinian National Authority.

However, Palestinians say that the Israeli forces target not only militants but also noncombatant civilians, with a paramedic telling CNN that he did not feel safe "even in uniform".

In January, the Israeli military raided Jenin city and the refugee camp, killing ten Palestinians, including three civilians.

"[30] In July, Israel launched a largescale incursion involving drones, Apache Helicopters and ground troops targeting militants.

[37] In December 2024, the Palestinian Authority launched its largest operation in three decades, 'Protect the Homeland,' aimed at regaining control of the Jenin refugee camp.

The operation saw Palestinian security forces clash with local Islamist militants as part of an effort to dismantle insurgency and curb instability.

[41] These armed groups act as the sole form of resistance and protection for the population from the Israeli army, which regularly comes in and conducts raids, killing civilians, and taking many prisoners.

[citation needed] Armed militants enjoy high levels of support amongst the residents of the camp, who condemn the Palestinian Authority as "collaborators with the occupation".

Initially founded by the PIJ in 2021 to serve as a local branch for the al-Quds Brigades,[48][49] it has developed into an affiliation of armed militants from several factions, similar to the Lion's Den group in Nablus.

[52] According to Moein Odeh, an expert on Palestinian affairs, the Jenin Brigades consist of teenagers and men in their early twenties and do not have a clear hierarchical structure of command, making it difficult to track down members.

Observers say that the Jenin Brigades and other similar groups formed amidst "a complete loss of confidence in the Palestinian political leadership".

During the first years of the Jenin camp, refugees lived at former barracks that were evacuated by the British Army, then at an abandoned train station from the Ottoman period, then at tents provided by the UNRWA.

[59][better source needed] Even today, the camp's residents face problems due to poor sewage networks,[60] and many live in shelters that lack appropriate lighting and ventilation.

[62] Due to its proximity to the Jezreel Valley, the camp has one of the largest fertile plains in Palestine, and is sometimes called the "breadbasket of the West Bank".