Israel’s expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from three West Bank refugee camps in early 2025 constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, calling for urgent international action to hold Israeli officials accountable and stop further abuses.
The human rights group said about 32,000 residents of the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces during “Operation Iron Wall” in January and February. Those displaced have been barred from returning and hundreds of homes have been destroyed, according to the group’s 105-page report, titled “All My Dreams Were Erased.”
“Ten months after the displacement, not a single family member could return to their homes,” Melina Ansari, a Human Rights Watch researcher who worked on the report, told Reuters.
The Israeli army said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday that it was necessary to demolish civilian infrastructure so that militants could not exploit it. It did not say when residents could return.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit the displacement of civilians from occupied territory, except temporarily for imperative military reasons or for their safety. HRW said that high-ranking officials should be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report described soldiers raiding homes, looting property and ordering families out via loudspeakers mounted on drones. Residents are said to have reported bulldozers demolishing buildings as they fled and that Israeli forces did not offer shelter or help, leaving families to crowd into relatives’ homes or seek refuge in mosques, schools and charities.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
