DaysofPal – Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday that Israel’s removal of tens of thousands of Palestinians from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank at the start of 2025 constitutes “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” calling for urgent international action to hold Israeli officials accountable.
The organization said Israeli forces forcibly displaced around 32,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams camps during what Israel called “Operation Iron Wall” in January and February, preventing residents from returning to their homes while hundreds of houses were demolished. The findings were detailed in a report titled “All My Dreams Were Erased.”
HRW researcher Melina Ansari told Reuters that “ten months after their displacement, none of the families have been able to return to their homes.”
In a brief response, the Israeli army told Reuters on Wednesday that it “needs to demolish civilian infrastructure to prevent militants from exploiting it,” without specifying when residents might be able to return.
Testimonies of harsh conditions and forced displacement
The report said displaced residents described soldiers storming their homes, looting belongings, issuing evacuation orders via loudspeakers mounted on drones, and bulldozers demolishing buildings as people fled. No shelters or emergency assistance were provided, forcing families to take refuge in relatives’ homes, mosques, schools, and charity centers.
Hisham Abu Tabeekh, who was expelled from Jenin camp, said his family fled without being able to take any belongings. “No food, no water, no medicine, no money… we are living in extremely harsh conditions,” he said.
HRW said it interviewed 31 displaced people from the three camps and analyzed satellite images, demolition orders, and video evidence, concluding that more than 850 buildings were destroyed or damaged. A UN assessment estimated the number to be around 1,460 structures.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit the forcible transfer of civilians from occupied territory unless temporarily required for imperative military reasons or for their own safety. HRW said senior Israeli officials should be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The organization noted that while Israel justified the operation as targeting “terrorist elements,” it provided no legal basis for mass expulsion or preventing residents from returning.
HRW added that Israeli officials wrote that the operation targeted what they called terrorist elements but gave no justification for the mass removal or the ban on return.
The organization said the expulsions, carried out as global attention focused on Gaza, “form part of crimes against humanity, including apartheid and persecution,” urging governments to impose sanctions on Israeli leaders, suspend arms transfers, halt trade privileges, ban settlement products, and enforce arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court.
The report described the removals as “ethnic cleansing,” a term the organization said refers to the unlawful removal of an ethnic or religious group from a particular area.
The West Bank has witnessed a sharp escalation in violence parallel to the genocidal war on Gaza, with Israeli army and settler attacks killing at least 1,076 Palestinians and injuring about 10,760 others, as well as more than 20,500 arrests since the war began, according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
According to the commission, Israel carried out 1,014 demolitions in the West Bank and Jerusalem during the two years of genocide, affecting 3,679 structures, including 1,288 inhabited homes and 244 uninhabited homes, and issued 1,667 demolition notices for Palestinian properties.
Over 69,000 people were killed and over 170,000 were injured during Israel’s two-year genocidal campaign, which started on October 7, 2023, and ended with a ceasefire agreement. The majority of the victims were women and children. The UN estimated reconstruction costs at around $70 billion.
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