UN report warns of Israeli “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the West Bank - Sarmad
A report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) revealed that Israeli forces forcibly displaced all Palestinians from three refugee camps in the West Bank in 2025 and continue to prevent their return.
The report, titled “Destruction of Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Northern West Bank,” stated that the Israeli military, police, and other forces deployed as part of the ongoing “Iron Wall” operation killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure, cut off water and electricity supplies, and blocked humanitarian aid from reaching the Jenin, Nuseirat, and Tulkarm refugee camps. Forces moved from house to house to compel residents to leave.
By October 2025, 52% of buildings in the Jenin refugee camp, 48% in the Nuseirat camp, and 36% in the Tulkarm camp had been destroyed or damaged as a result of the Israeli operation.
These three camps are among 19 established in the West Bank to house Palestinian refugees following mass forced displacement during the Nakba in 1948, and are administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“Days after the launch of the ‘Iron Wall’ operation, Israeli security forces tightened their control over the Jenin, Nuseirat, and Tulkarm refugee camps, forcibly displacing their entire populations,” the report stated, noting that it was based on independent monitoring and documentation conducted by the Human Rights Office.
Some displaced Palestinians told the High Commissioner’s Office that Israeli officers informed them that there would no longer be refugee camps and that they should “all go to Jordan.”
The report emphasized that the widespread, long-term, and systematic displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians from the refugee camps during Israel’s “Iron Wall” operation raises serious concerns regarding the crime against humanity of forcible transfer. Furthermore, the use of airstrikes, armored bulldozers, and targeted explosions to render entire camps uninhabitable, coupled with forcing residents to flee and preventing their return in the absence of any imperative military necessity, is prohibited under international law and appears to amount to collective punishment, raising concerns about ethnic cleansing.
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated: “The manner in which the ‘Iron Wall’ operation was carried out suggests its objective was to displace as many Palestinians as possible and make way for further illegal Israeli settlements, in additional violation of international law.”
He added: “Israel must end its 59-year occupation of Palestinian land, halt any efforts aimed at forcibly displacing more Palestinians and further undermining the geographic contiguity of a future Palestinian state. It must also take steps to comply with its obligations under international law, as clearly outlined in the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice more than two years ago, which stated that it must end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible.”
During the period covered by the report, Israeli forces killed 102 Palestinians in the operation, including 21 children, accounting for 46% of the total killings committed by Israeli forces in the West Bank during that timeframe.
Israeli forces also carried out air raids, employing combat drones and shoulder-fired explosive projectiles, all weapons designed for warfare rather than law enforcement operations, resulting in the killing and injuring of numerous unarmed individuals who apparently posed no threat. On February 23, 2025, the Israeli Defense Minister ordered the Israeli military to remain in the three camps, stating that Palestinians displaced from them would not be permitted to return. According to UNRWA, approximately 33,362 Palestinian refugees from these camps remained forcibly displaced as of July of this year.
