Arabic version: تقرير أممي يحذّر من تهجير سكان الضفة الغربية
According to Al Jazeera, a United Nations Human Rights report says Israel’s military actions in three occupied West Bank refugee camps appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing. The report examined Operation Iron Wall, conducted in January and February 2025.
The report, titled Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank, said the operation killed 102 Palestinians and displaced more than 33,000 residents from the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps. It said displaced Palestinians reported that Israeli officers told them there would be no more refugee camps and that they should “all go to Jordan”.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said large-scale, long-term and systematic displacement could amount to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer. It said using air strikes, armoured bulldozers and controlled detonations to make entire areas uninhabitable and prevent residents’ return, without imperative military necessity, is not permissible under international law.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the way the operation was conducted suggested an aim to expel as many Palestinians as possible and make way for more illegal Israeli settlements. As of July, about 33,362 displaced Palestinian refugees from the camps remained forcibly displaced, according to UNRWA. The report said at least 21 children were killed by Israeli forces during the operation and called on Israel to halt efforts to forcibly displace more Palestinians.
