Published on: 2026-09-04
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
September 4, 2026 Peace and Security
In January and February 2025, Israeli security forces forcibly displaced the entire Palestinian population of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and continue to prevent them from returning. This is a direct violation of international law, according to a report published on Friday by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Operation “Iron Wall”
The report titled “The Destruction of Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Northern West Bank” notes that Israeli military, police, and other forces involved in the ongoing Operation “Iron Wall” killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure, cut off water and electricity supplies, blocked humanitarian access to the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarm refugee camps, and went house to house forcing residents to leave their homes.
By October 2025, as a result of the Israeli operation, about 52 percent of the buildings in the Jenin refugee camp were destroyed or damaged, 48 percent in the Nur-Shams camp, and 36 percent in Tulkarm.
These three camps are among 19 camps on the West Bank established to accommodate Palestinian refugees following the mass forced expulsion in 1948. These camps are managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented testimonies from several displaced Palestinians who reported that Israeli soldiers told them that there would be no more refugee camps and that they should “all leave for Jordan.”
The report emphasizes that the large-scale, prolonged, and systematic displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians from refugee camps during the Israeli operation “Iron Wall” raises serious concerns about the possibility of committing a crime against humanity – forced population transfer.
Possibility of ethnic cleansing
The use of airstrikes, armored bulldozers, and controlled demolitions to turn camps into uninhabitable areas, forcing their residents to relocate and preventing their return—without imperative military necessity—is not permitted under international law. These actions, according to human rights advocates, may constitute collective punishment and raise concerns about the possibility of ethnic cleansing.
“The way the ‘Iron Wall’ operation was conducted indicates that its goal was to expel as many Palestinians as possible and free up space for new illegal Israeli settlements, which is yet another violation of international law,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
In the period covered by the report, during the operation, Israeli forces killed about 102 Palestinians, including 21 children. This accounts for 46 percent of all killings carried out by Israeli forces in the West Bank during that period.
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes, used combat drones, and man-portable rocket launchers. As the authors of the report note, all this weaponry is intended for conducting war, not for law enforcement operations — and they killed or wounded many unarmed people who, according to available data, did not pose an immediate threat to them.
New rules for the use of force
Israeli occupying authorities claim that all those killed during the operation were terrorists. However, for example, an internal Israeli investigation into the killing of a Palestinian woman who was eight months pregnant found that she was shot simply because she allegedly “behaved suspiciously.”
This happened after Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank introduced new rules of engagement, allowing soldiers to use live ammunition against people who “dig in the ground” — suspected of planting explosive devices.
On February 23, 2025, the Israeli Minister of Defense ordered Israeli soldiers to remain in three camps and stated that displaced Palestinians from them would not be allowed to return.
According to UNRWA, as of July this year, approximately 33,362 displaced Palestinian refugees from these camps remained forcibly displaced.
Please be advised; This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.