Tens Of Thousands Of Palestinians Leave West Bank Refugee Camp

Nur Shams Gaza/DOK UNRWA

JAKARTA - Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank have fled their homes as weeks of Israeli attacks have destroyed homes and destroyed critical infrastructure in cities.

Israeli forces began their operations in refugee camps in the city of Jenin, the northern West Bank, on January 21, deploying hundreds of soldiers and bulldozers that destroyed houses and dug roads, thus expelling nearly the entire camp.

"We don't know what happened in the camp, but demolition continues and roads are excavated," said Mohammed al-Sabbagh, head of the Jenin camp service committee.

The operation, which Israel says aims to thwart Iran-backed militant groups in the West Bank, has been extended to other camps, particularly the Tulkarem refugee camp and the nearby Nur Shams camp, both of which have also been destroyed.

The camps, built for descendants of Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war surrounding the formation of an Israeli state, have long been the main center of armed militant groups.

They have been repeatedly raided by the Israeli military but current operations, which began after a ceasefire was agreed in Gaza, have been carried out on an unusually large scale.

According to figures from the Palestinian Authority, about 17,000 people have now left the Jenin refugee camp, leaving the site almost completely empty.

Meanwhile in Nur Shams 6,000 people, or about two-thirds of the total number, have left the camp, and another 10,000 have left the Tulkarem camp.

"The rest are stuck," said Nihad al-Shawish, chairman of the Nur Shams camp service committee.

"Civil Security, Red Crescent and Palestinian security forces brought them food yesterday but the army was still bulldozing and destroying the camp," he continued.

Israeli raids have destroyed dozens of houses and destroyed most of the highways and cut off water and electricity, but the military has denied forcing residents to flee their homes.

People clearly have the possibility of moving or going to the place they want, if they want. But if they don't, they are allowed to stay, "Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

The operation began when Israel attempted to expel the United Nations' main aid organization for Palestine, UNRWA and cut contact with Israeli officials.

The ban, which took effect in late January, has had a negative impact on UNRWA's work on the West Bank and Gaza, where they provide assistance to millions of Palestinians in refugee camps.

Israel accuses UNRWA of cooperating with Hamas and says some UNRWA workers even took part in Hamas-led attacks on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked a 15-month war in Gaza.