Mass Displacement and Destruction in West Bank Refugee Camps After Israel’s ‘Operation Iron Wall’

During Israel’s Operation Iron Wall in January–February 2025, security forces ordered every resident of the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps to leave, resulting in the forced displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians. A February 2025 directive from the Israeli Defence Minister barred any return, and UNRWA records show around 33,362 people remained without homes as of July 2026. The removal has been described as a systematic, long‑term effort that breaches international law and raises concerns about future settlement activity on the vacated land.

By October 2025, damage to the camps was extensive: 52 percent of structures in Jenin, 48 percent in Nur Shams and 36 percent in Tulkarem were destroyed or severely damaged. Israeli forces used airstrikes, armored bulldozers and controlled detonations, making whole neighborhoods uninhabitable without clear military necessity. The assaults also cut off water and electricity, destroyed roads and blocked humanitarian access, leaving residents without basic services and hindering aid delivery.

The operation resulted in 102 Palestinian deaths, including 21 children, representing 46 percent of all West Bank fatalities attributed to Israeli forces during the same period. Among the dead were eight‑month‑pregnant Sondos Shalabi, shot while fleeing Nur Shams, and ten‑year‑old Saddam Hussein Rajab, killed in Tulkarem as he waited for his father at the mosque. UN human‑rights chief Volker Türk warned that the scale and method of the displacement suggest an intent to expel Palestinians and clear space for settlements, raising possible crimes against humanity under international law. The UN has called on Israel to comply with the ICJ ruling demanding an end to its unlawful presence in occupied Palestinian territory.