From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of Palestinians flee West Bank refugee camps
Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the West Bank have left their homes as a weeks-long Israeli counter-terror offensive has demolished houses and torn up vital infrastructure in the heavily built up townships, Palestinian authorities say.
Israeli forces began their operation in the refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on January 21, deploying hundreds of troops and bulldozers that demolished houses and dug up roads, driving almost all of the camp’s residents out.
The IDF says it carries out these demolitions because many of the roads and homes in these northern West Bank refugee camps are laced with IEDs set up by terror groups in order to deter Israeli operations.
“We don’t know what’s going on in the camp but there is continuous demolition and roads being dug up,” says Mohammed al-Sabbagh, head of the Jenin camp services committee.
The operation, which Israel says is aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed terror groups in the West Bank, has since been extended to other camps, notably the Tulkarem refugee camp and the nearby Nur Shams camp, both of which have also been devastated.
The camps, built for descendants of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven from their homes in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, have long been major centers for armed terror groups.
They have been raided repeatedly by the Israeli military but the current operation, which began as a ceasefire was agreed in Gaza, has been on an unusually large scale.
According to figures from the Palestinian Authority, around 17,000 people have now left Jenin refugee camp, leaving the site almost completely deserted, while in Nur Shams 6,000 people, or about two-thirds of the total, have left, with another 10,000 leaving from Tulkarem camp.
“The ones who are left are trapped,” says Nihad al-Shawish, head of the Nur Shams camp services committee. “The Civil Defense, the Red Crescent and the Palestinian security forces brought them some food yesterday but the army is still bulldozing and destroying the camp.”
The Israeli raids have demolished dozens of houses and torn up large stretches of roadway as well as cutting off water and power, but the military has denied forcing residents to leave their homes.
“People obviously have the possibility to move or go where they want, if they will. But if they don’t, they’re allowed to stay,” IDF Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani tells reporters.
