From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Displaced Palestinians rally in Tulkarem against IDF home demolitions
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleMore than a hundred Palestinians displaced from refugee camps by an ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank gather in the city of Tulkarem to protest the army’s recent home demolitions.
The two refugee camps adjacent to the northern city have seen dozens of residential buildings torn down by Israel’s military in recent months, with more slated for destruction in the coming weeks.
Israel says its months-long operation in the territory’s north is aimed at cracking down on several camps that are strongholds of Palestinian terror groups fighting against Israel.
“Today is a clear message from the community inside the camps demanding their right — the right to return to the camp and to stop the assault on the camps, the destruction of homes,” says Nihaya al-Jundi, a displaced woman from Tulkarem camp who took part in the protest.
Demonstrators also demand support from Palestinian authorities and the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which has historically provided health, education and other services to camp residents.
Israel says UNRWA has been infiltrated by terror groups, and that its schools indoctrinate students with violent anti-Israel and antisemitic material.
The displaced people of Tulkarm and Nour Shams refugee camps hold a vigil in the Tulkarm city center in protest of the ongoing Israeli demolition campaign targeting their homes. pic.twitter.com/xgf00qqrlw
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 9, 2025
Women and children from the Tulkarem camp hold signs calling for an end to the demolitions and for housing allowances to support the displaced.
“The protest was about demanding legitimate rights — human rights, social rights — such as continuous relief aid, housing, medical treatment, and medicine, and for UNRWA and the Palestinian government to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid,” Faisal Salama, head of Tulkarem camp’s popular committee, tells AFP.
Um Moataz Abu Shala, a displaced woman from Nur Shams, Tulkarem’s other refugee camp, says she first and foremost wanted to return home.
“We don’t want food aid, donations, caravans, or any handouts. We want to return to our land in Nur Shams,” she tells AFP.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.