Eu Day Light

According to a report published by OHCHR, Israeli security forces forcibly displaced the population of three Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank in January and February 2025 as part of what Israel calls “Operation Iron Wall.”

The report said military and police forces killed civilians during the operation, demolished hundreds of homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure, cut off water and electricity, and prevented humanitarian aid from reaching the area. Israeli forces were also reported to have gone door to door instructing residents to leave their homes.

Some displaced Palestinians who spoke to OHCHR said Israeli officials had told them that there would no longer be refugee camps and that “everyone should go to Jordan.”

According to the report, as of October 2025, 52 percent of structures in Jenin Refugee Camp, 48 percent in Nur Shams and 36 percent in Tulkarem had been destroyed or damaged.

The report said the prolonged and systematic displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians from the camps during the operation raised serious concerns about forcible transfer as a crime against humanity. It also stated that airstrikes, armored bulldozers and controlled demolitions had rendered the camps uninhabitable.

During the period covered by the report, 102 Palestinians, including 21 children, were killed, accounting for 46 percent of all deaths caused by Israeli forces in the West Bank during the same period.

Among those killed were Sondos Shalabi, who was eight months pregnant and was shot dead while trying to leave Nur Shams Camp, and 10-year-old Saddam Hussein Rajab, who was shot in the abdomen in Tulkarem while waiting to go to the mosque with his father.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the manner in which the operation was carried out gave the impression that it was intended to remove as many Palestinians as possible from the area and make room for more Israeli settlements.

Türk called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territory and comply with the International Court of Justice ruling requiring it to bring its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to an end as rapidly as possible.

The report said Israel's Defense Minister instructed the military on February 23, 2025, to remain in the three camps and announced that displaced Palestinians would not be allowed to return.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), approximately 33,362 people had been displaced as of July this year.