Israel's West Bank assault displaces 26,000 from Jenin and Tulkarm camps

Since last month, the Israeli military has launched a large-scale offensive in the occupied West Bank, resulting in the displacement of 26,000 Palestinians in Jenin and Tulkarem. This military operation has brought severe shock and impact to local residents, with many families forced to leave their homes. The situation remains dire as the conflict continues.

Fahd Abu al-Haija, a member of the Jenin Refugee Camp Popular Committee, stated that 17,000 people have been forced to evacuate from the Jenin Refugee Camp, which houses over 24,000 registered Palestinian refugees. For the past two weeks, Israeli forces have been besieging, invading, and bombing the camp and its surrounding areas. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that large parts of the camp have been completely flattened in a series of explosions, with an estimated minimum of 100 homes destroyed or severely damaged.

According to the Palestinian National News Agency, on Sunday, Israeli forces simultaneously demolished nearly 20 buildings on the eastern side of the refugee camp after detonating them with explosives. Israeli forces prevented movement within the camp, and residents were forced to flee amidst shelling and explosions. Abu al-Haija said that Israeli forces also evicted families living near the refugee camp, where they also blew up a building consisting of 20 apartments, leaving 200 residents homeless.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that Israeli forces have killed at least 70 people in the West Bank since the beginning of this year. Abu al-Haija told Middle East Eye that displaced residents have fled the violence to different parts of Jenin and its villages, which have also been affected by the military operation. Due to the lack of basic facilities such as electricity and water, Palestinian families are now hosting up to 20 displaced people in their homes.

Abu al-Haija said, "Both the displaced families and the families hosting them are facing economic difficulties. Before the Israeli military operation, the refugee camp had been besieged by the Palestinian security services for 48 days. People have been out of work for three months and unable to obtain basic daily needs, including food." In the weeks preceding the Israeli operation, the Palestinian Authority launched a large-scale security operation in Jenin, which included besieging the city, shooting at unarmed civilians, and clashing with local militants.

Abu al-Haija also stated that due to the Israeli siege, no one knows what is happening inside the refugee camp or the full extent of the damage. Residents of Jenin, who have suffered repeated military attacks in the past two years, say that the current attack is even more violent than the infamous invasion of the refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002. Abu al-Haija said, "Families in Jenin are shocked by the scale of this attack. It is similar to what is happening in Gaza, except that this attack covers an area of only one square kilometer."

The ongoing invasion has had a particularly devastating impact on children, who have been unable to attend school since the beginning of December. UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma stated that 13 UNRWA schools in and around the refugee camp have been closed, affecting approximately 5,000 children. Abu al-Haija reported that children are suffering from higher levels of stress, anxiety, and fear, with many struggling to sleep. Some have developed conditions including involuntary urination and hysterical screaming fits.

Sama Hawashin, a resident of the refugee camp, said that her seven-year-old daughter has been particularly affected. Hawashin said that she, her husband, and their three children fled their home during the Palestinian Authority's security operation in the refugee camp. The family tried to return to their home in the Hawashin neighborhood, but there was no water or electricity, and no one responded to their requests for help. Hawashin said, "I spent years building my house, but the number of bullets that penetrated its walls and furniture is indescribable. I found some bullets on my children's beds. They would have been killed immediately if we had stayed."

However, her daughter continues to experience immense fear that is difficult to alleviate. "Whenever she hears the sound of bullets, my daughter covers her ears. I try to comfort her, but nothing helps," Hawashin said, fighting back tears. "I am heartbroken for my children because they are not experiencing their childhood. When we were displaced, I couldn't believe they would be playing outside." Abu al-Haija also highlighted another worrying psychological impact of the military operation on children: a pessimistic outlook on the future.

When asked what they want to be when they grow up, many answer: "A martyr or a prisoner." "Residents of Jenin are crammed into small apartments, and their children are afraid to go outside to play for fear of snipers. Now, our only wish is that they can play in the sun," she said. The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that at least 10 children, including a two-year-old girl, have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank this year.

Concurrent with the military operation in Jenin, Israeli forces are also conducting an invasion of the Tulkarem refugee camp, which has so far displaced at least 9,000 Palestinians. Displaced residents have sought shelter in auditoriums, clubs, and centers in the city of Tulkarem or in the homes of their relatives. Suheil Salman, an activist and political figure in Tulkarem, said that Israeli forces have been deliberately targeting the daily lives of the refugee camp by destroying civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and cutting off basic services such as water and electricity.

Salman emphasized that this tactic is designed to attack the right of return of Palestinian refugees, a core issue that has long been an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Salman told Middle East Eye: "The evidence for this is that the genocide in Gaza, the attacks on refugee camps in the West Bank, and the attacks on UNRWA are all happening simultaneously, with the aim of emptying the refugee camps and creating an uninhabitable environment by stopping any life development within the camps."

Two Israeli laws came into effect last week prohibiting UNRWA from operating in Israel and "areas under Israeli sovereignty" and banning any contact with the agency. This move was supported by former US President Donald Trump. The UN agency, which has been operating for nearly a year without US funding, provides aid, health, and education services to millions of people in the Palestinian territories and millions of Palestinians living in refugee camps in neighboring Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Salman said, "The spearhead of this attack on UNRWA is the Americans, and we heard Trump's latest statements about displacing the people of Gaza to Egypt and the people of the West Bank to Jordan. Therefore, the process of displacement is underway." Salman believes that the destruction, bombing, and demolition activities in the West Bank are aimed at forcing refugee camp residents to leave.

The activist emphasized that Palestinians need to streamline internal affairs and agree on a political program to counter Israel's plans. "When Israeli forces blew up 20 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp, it was filmed and broadcast on satellite channels. This is a blatant challenge to the whole world and the human rights system," he said. "It is clear that the world is readjusting so that Israel has the upper hand in the region."