Israeli Troops Destroy Houses In The West Bank, Forces Tens Of Thousands Of Palestinians To Evacuate

JAKARTA - Israeli forces destroyed houses and cleared roads through the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli military operations have been holding for weeks against militant groups that have forced tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes.

Operations were carried out during a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that has halted fighting there over the past six weeks, emptying several of the largest refugee camps in the northern West Bank.

Nur Shams, outside the city of Tulkarem, is the latest nearly vacated camp from its occupants, following a camp in the volatile city of Jenin to the east and a separate camp in Tulkarem itself.

Residents say the bulldozers have cleared a wide road through an area where houses have been established to facilitate access to military vehicles.

"Of the population of about 13,000 people, almost nothing remains in the main camp," said Nihad al-Shawish, chairman of the camp service committee Nur Shams.

There are about 3,000 people left in the camp and to this day, they have all left the camp, "he said. There are still some people outside on the outskirts but no one is left in the camp," he continued.

There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has previously said its operations aim to eradicate fighters from Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who have built forts in camps in the northern West Bank.

At least 12 people were killed in Tulkarem during the operation, including armed militants and civilians, according to Palestinian health officials.

While the Israeli military said it had made hundreds of arrests in the northern region of the West Bank over the past few weeks, seized 120 weapons and destroyed hundreds of explosives.