Tubas (UNA/WAFA) – A year after the start of the ongoing Israeli occupation's aggression against refugee camps in the northern West Bank, the situation on the ground appears more difficult and complex than before, especially with the continued displacement of residents from the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps, the continued presence of occupation forces inside these camps, and the ongoing systematic destruction and alteration of their infrastructure and features..
Simultaneously, Israeli media outlets published reports at the beginning of this year about the instructions of the Minister of the Occupation Army, Yisrael Katz, to draw up plans to occupy more West Bank camps, similar to the camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams..
The Israeli occupation's targeting of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is also escalating to unprecedented levels, culminating in the Israeli authorities' storming of UNRWA's headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday. They carried out demolition work, confiscated property, and raised the Israeli flag over the headquarters. This comes after the Israeli Knesset previously passed a law banning the UN agency's operations in Jerusalem and has continued to restrict its work for over a year..
In this context, Anwar Hammam, Undersecretary of the Refugee Affairs Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, affirms that the targeting of the camps cannot be dated to have begun only a year ago or even coinciding with the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Rather, it predates that by a long time, but has recently escalated alarmingly, culminating in the ongoing occupation of the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps for a year, resulting in unprecedented destruction and the complete displacement of the residents of these camps..
He noted that the forced displacement operations currently taking place in the camps are part of a series of forced displacement operations pursued by the occupation in the West Bank on several levels, including: the displacement of Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley and the eastern slopes, the displacement of residents from the so-called Area C, in addition to systematic displacement attempts in Jerusalem through house demolitions, deportation orders, and the creation of a coercive and hostile environment..
Regarding the recent intensification of the occupation's targeting of the camps, Hammam says: "The camps have been targeted throughout the Palestinian struggle, but the current scale of targeting and destruction is unprecedented. Initial estimates indicate that more than 50% of the buildings and facilities in the three camps (Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams) have been destroyed, in addition to the displacement of all their residents.".
He also pointed out that the actual extent of the destruction exceeds the announced figures, and considering the specific nature of the camps and their limited area, construction expands vertically rather than horizontally, and therefore each building includes several floors and several residential units..
He also considered the latest phase of targeting the camps to be the most dangerous, as its danger lies in the fact that the current Israeli government, run by religious Zionism, is moving towards "resolving the conflict." He added that the refugee issue is one of the gateways through which the occupation government is working to resolve the conflict by eliminating it, in order to eradicate the essence of the Palestinian national cause..
According to Hammam, the occupation's targeting of the refugee issue follows two parallel lines: targeting UNRWA because it represents international recognition of the existence of the refugee issue, and simultaneously targeting the camps with destruction and changing their structure as they are considered spatial evidence of the Nakba..
Regarding recent Israeli threats to extend the aggression against other camps in the West Bank, similar to the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps, Hammam believes that the occupation's targeting of the camps and the refugee issue is a systematic and escalating policy. The targeting of UNRWA and the aggression against the camps were preceded by intensive and misleading media campaigns, culminating in attempts to completely end UNRWA's operations on the one hand, and to target the camps with destruction, alter their features, and displace their residents on the other..
He pointed out that targeting UNRWA and the camps has become a form of competition among Israeli parties, with right-wing parties outbidding each other in the ferocity of their attacks on the camps and UNRWA in order to undermine the refugee issue..
Hammam stressed that all camps in the West Bank are targeted in one way or another, with daily raids on the camps accompanied by multiple violations including killing, arrest, and destruction, in addition to systematic economic strangulation..
He continued: “The targeting of all camps is ongoing, but the danger now lies in Katz’s attempt to replicate the experience of occupying the camps completely, destroying them, and displacing their residents. This will have serious and catastrophic repercussions for Palestinian society.” He stressed that the international community and international institutions bear the responsibility of putting an end to these frenzied campaigns to liquidate the Palestinian cause..
The occupation forces had begun their aggression against the camps in the northern West Bank as part of a military operation they called “Iron Wall” on January 21, 2025. The operation began with an attack on the city of Jenin and its camp and the displacement of the camp’s residents, and extended a week later to the city of Tulkarm and its two camps (Tulkarm and Nur Shams), and then extended partially to the Al-Far’a camp in the Tubas Governorate and the northern Jordan Valley.
According to the “Latest Humanitarian Situation Update” report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) On November 12, 2025, it was stated: “The military operation that Israeli forces have been carrying out in refugee camps in the northern West Bank since January 2025 has resulted in what is now considered the longest and most extensive displacement crisis in the West Bank since 1967.”
The same report indicated that approximately 32 Palestinian refugees were displaced from the Jenin, Tulkarm, Nur Shams camps and surrounding areas..
The report also confirms that approximately 1,460 buildings were completely or partially destroyed in the three camps, including 676 buildings in Jenin camp, which constitutes about 52% of the total buildings in the camp, 382 buildings in Nur Shams camp, representing approximately 48% of its total buildings, and 402 buildings in Tulkarm camp, representing approximately 36% of its total buildings..
In light of this reality, the camps in the northern West Bank are facing an extremely dangerous phase, with escalating military aggression, policies of forced displacement, attempts to alter the character of the camps, and the continued targeting of UNRWA..
As the occupation threatens to expand these violations to other camps, fears are growing of widespread humanitarian and political repercussions targeting the core of the Palestinian cause and attempting to liquidate it..
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