In Jerusalem, Israeli forces were gearing up on Friday to conduct home demolitions within two urban refugee camps located in the northern region of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. This development was confirmed by the governor of one of these camps and details were corroborated by Israeli military documents shared with the United Nations.
Abdallah Kamil, the governor overseeing Tulkarem, utilized social media to announce on Thursday that the military was poised to demolish 116 residences situated in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps. These areas have been focal points of Israel’s military operations in the northern West Bank. The Israeli military explained that the demolition initiative was aimed at enhancing “mobility for the soldiers” and curbing militancy. Efforts were reportedly made to reduce the number of buildings impacted, and citizens were urged to contact authorities to discuss options for the evacuation of personal items from the affected structures.
Military documents shared by a U.N. official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information, indicated that demolition orders had been issued, with the buildings marked for destruction within 24 hours.
This announcement prompted urgency among residents of the already evacuated Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps, who rushed to salvage belongings from their threatened homes. Meanwhile, the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, received reports suggesting Israeli forces were detaining individuals and firing warning shots at Palestinians attempting to retrieve their possessions.
This military action is part of an ongoing operation in the West Bank that, at its peak, resulted in the displacement of about 40,000 Palestinians. It has involved clearing out and heavily damaging several urban refugee camps in the northern West Bank, including Tulkarem and Nur Shams. These camps house descendants of Palestinians who fled or were displaced during earlier conflicts. This current wave of displacement is noted as the largest since Israel’s capture of the West Bank during the 1967 Mideast war.
It is anticipated that Israeli troops might remain stationed in some of these camps for up to a year, which has raised concerns among the displaced and the international community.