UN fears of 'ethnic cleansing' after Israel displaces Palestinian refugees in occupied West Bank camps
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has warned that the forced displacement of all Palestinian residents from three refugee camps in the West Bank by Israeli occupation forces amounts to collective punishment and raises concerns about the commission of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
In a report issued from Geneva titled “Destruction of Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Northern West Bank,” the High Commissioner’s Office stated that the Israeli occupation army and police, along with other forces deployed under the ongoing “Iron Wall” operation, killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure, and forced residents of the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nour Shams camps to leave.
The report added that by October 2025, occupation forces had destroyed or damaged 52% of buildings in the Jenin refugee camp, 48% in Nour Shams, and 36% in Tulkarm, resulting in the forced displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinian refugees.
According to the report, the Israeli occupation’s Minister of War ordered the army to remain in the three camps and barred Palestinians from returning, causing the forced displacement of approximately 33,362 Palestinian refugees from these camps by July of this year, according to data from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
In this context, the High Commissioner expressed serious concerns regarding crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli occupation amid the widespread, long-term, and systematic displacement of Palestinians from refugee camps during the “Iron Wall” operation. It emphasized that the use of airstrikes, armored bulldozers, and targeted explosions to destroy camps, force residents to flee, and prevent their return is prohibited under international law. Such operations could amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing.
The High Commissioner’s Office reported that occupation forces killed 102 Palestinians during the reporting period, including 21 children, accounting for 46% of all killings carried out by occupation forces in the West Bank during that time.
Quoting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the report stated that the manner in which the “Iron Wall” operation was conducted indicates its objective was to displace as many Palestinians as possible to make way for further illegal Israeli settlements, constituting an additional violation of international law.
Türk stressed the necessity for Israel to end its 59-year occupation of Palestinian land and halt any efforts aimed at forcibly displacing more Palestinians and further undermining the geographic contiguity of a future Palestinian state. He also emphasized the need for the Israeli occupation authorities to take steps to comply with their obligations under international law, as clarified by the International Court of Justice over two years ago, namely “to end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territories as rapidly as possible.”
According to the report, these three camps are among 19 camps in the West Bank established to house Palestinian refugees following mass forced displacement during the Nakba (Catastrophe) of 1948, and are administered by UNRWA.
On the ground, a Palestinian youth was killed by Israeli police fire east of Jerusalem, allegedly while attempting to carry out a stabbing attack. Palestinian local sources told Xinhua News Agency that occupation police officers shot the youth near the Bab al-Amoud area in east Jerusalem.
For its part, the Israeli police issued a brief statement announcing the thwarting of a “stabbing attempt” in Jerusalem’s Old City.
In Gaza, one Palestinian was killed and five others were injured in an Israeli occupation drone strike targeting the Mawasi area in southern Khan Younis. Palestinian health authorities stated in a press statement that the injured were immediately transported to hospitals for treatment following the strike.
