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Arab News
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israel clears another refugee camp as squeeze on West Bank tightens
RAMALLAH: Israeli troops demolished houses and cleared a wide roadway through the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, in a weeks-long operation against militant groups. The operation, during a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that has halted fighting there for the past six weeks, has forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and emptied some of the biggest refugee camps in the northern West Bank in what some Palestinians see as a trial run for wider clearances later. Nur Shams, outside the city of Tulkarm, is the latest camp to be virtually emptied of its inhabitants following a camp in the volatile city of Jenin to the east and a separate camp within Tulkarm itself. Residents say bulldozers have been clearing a broad roadway through the area where houses once stood to create easy access for military vehicles, continuing one of the Israeli military's biggest operations in the West Bank for years. Of the usual population of some 13,000, almost none was left inside the main camp, said Nihad Al-Shawish, head of the Nur Shams camp services committee. 'There were about 3,000 people left in the camp and as of today, they have all left,' he said. 'There are still some people just outside on the outskirts but there is no one left in the camp.' There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has previously said its operation aims to root out fighters from Iranian-backed militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that have established strongholds in the camps of the northern West Bank. At least 12 people have been killed in Tulkarm during the operation, including both armed militants and civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military said it had made hundreds of arrests in the northern West Bank over recent weeks, confiscating 120 weapons and destroying hundreds of explosive devices. Gaza-style demolition The military has denied issuing formal evacuation orders to residents of the camp, a crowded township housing descendants of Palestinians who fled their homes or were forced out in the 1948 war at the birth of the state of Israel. But as in Jenin, residents have fled with whatever possessions they could carry in shopping bags or rucksacks as the Israeli bulldozers have demolished buildings and torn up roads, leaving the camp resembling the ruins of Gaza. 'People are leaving with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. They need food, clothing, baby milk, everything, Shawish said. Shawish said the operation, which has coincided with Israeli moves to cut out the main United Nations Palestinian relief organization UNRWA by closing its headquarters in Jerusalem, appeared to be a test to prepare for similar moves against refugee camps across the whole of the West Bank. 'If it succeeds, they will export it to all the camps,' he said. The operation has drawn widespread international criticism and comes amid heightened fears among Palestinians of an organized effort by Israel to formally annex the West Bank, the area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. US President Donald Trump, who recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital during his first term, has not yet indicated whether he would support annexation, a move that could complicate efforts to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia. But he has already proposed moving Palestinians out of Gaza to make way for a US property development, and has said he will give his position on the West Bank, which the Palestinians see as the core of a future independent state along with Gaza, in the near future. For Palestinians, such talk has revived memories of the 'Nakba' or catastrophe when some 750,000 Palestinians lost their homes after the 1948 war and became refugees.
Arab News
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UAE President tells US Secretary of State Rubio that UAE rejects the displacement of Palestinians from their land
Tens of thousands of Palestinians flee West Bank refugee camps JERUSALEM: Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank have left their homes as a weeks-long Israeli offensive has demolished houses and torn up vital infrastructure in the heavily built up townships, Palestinian authorities said. Israeli forces began their operation in the refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Jan. 21, deploying hundreds of troops and bulldozers that demolished houses and dug up roads, driving almost all of the camp's residents out. 'We don't know what's going on in the camp but there is continuous demolition and roads being dug up,' said Mohammed Al-Sabbagh, head of the Jenin camp services committee. An Israeli army excavator demolishes a residential building in the Tulkarem camp for Palestinian refugees during an ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP) The operation, which Israel says is aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed militant groups in the West Bank, has since been extended to other camps, notably the Tulkarm 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 the 1948 war around the creation of the state of Israel, have long been major centers for armed militant 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 Tulkarm camp. 'The ones who are left are trapped,' said 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,' Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters. The operation began as Israel moved to banish the main UN Palestinian relief organization UNRWA from its headquarters in East Jerusalem and cut it off from any contact with Israeli officials. The ban, which took effect at the end of January, has hit UNRWA's work in the West Bank and Gaza, where it provides aid for millions of Palestinians in the refugee camps. Israel has accused UNRWA of cooperating with Hamas and said some UNRWA workers even took part in the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that set off the 15-month war in Gaza.
Arab News
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Tens of thousands of Palestinians flee West Bank refugee camps
JERUSALEM: Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank have left their homes as a weeks-long Israeli offensive has demolished houses and torn up vital infrastructure in the heavily built up townships, Palestinian authorities said. Israeli forces began their operation in the refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Jan. 21, deploying hundreds of troops and bulldozers that demolished houses and dug up roads, driving almost all of the camp's residents out. 'We don't know what's going on in the camp but there is continuous demolition and roads being dug up,' said Mohammed Al-Sabbagh, head of the Jenin camp services committee. The operation, which Israel says is aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed militant groups in the West Bank, has since been extended to other camps, notably the Tulkarm 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 the 1948 war around the creation of the state of Israel, have long been major centers for armed militant 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 Tulkarm camp. 'The ones who are left are trapped,' said 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,' Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters. The operation began as Israel moved to banish the main UN Palestinian relief organization UNRWA from its headquarters in East Jerusalem and cut it off from any contact with Israeli officials. The ban, which took effect at the end of January, has hit UNRWA's work in the West Bank and Gaza, where it provides aid for millions of Palestinians in the refugee camps. Israel has accused UNRWA of cooperating with Hamas and said some UNRWA workers even took part in the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that set off the 15-month war in Gaza.
