Amman, Sept. 4 (Petra)– The Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday accused Israel of
forcibly displacing more than 33,000 Palestinians from three refugee
camps in the occupied West Bank in 2025, warning that the situation
raises concerns over the possible commission of crimes against
humanity and ethnic cleansing.

In a new report, the Office concluded that Israeli security forces
forcibly displaced the entire populations of three West Bank refugee
camps during January and February 2025 as part of the “Iron Wall”
operation, and have continued to prevent residents from returning,
“in violation of international law,” according to a statement cited
by international news agencies.

The report refers to the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps,
saying that the “large-scale, prolonged and systematic displacement”
of more than 33,000 Palestinians raises serious concerns over the
possible commission of the crime against humanity of forcible
transfer.

The UN rights office said that the use of airstrikes, armored
bulldozers and systematic demolition operations to render entire
camps uninhabitable, force residents to flee and prevent their
return, in the absence of an overriding military necessity, is
prohibited under international law.

It added that such actions “appear to constitute a form of collective
punishment” and raise concerns over the possibility of ethnic
cleansing.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in the
statement that the manner in which the “Iron Wall” operation was
carried out suggests that its objective was to displace as many
Palestinians as possible and make way for further illegal Israeli
settlements, in violation of international law.

On February 23, 2025, Israel announced that its military had
evacuated residents from the three camps in the northern West Bank
and that soldiers had been instructed to prevent them from returning
to their homes.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement at the time
that around 40,000 Palestinians had already been evacuated from the
refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, adding that the camps
had become empty of residents.

The three camps are among 19 Palestinian refugee camps in the West
Bank administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to the UN Human Rights Office.

//Petra// MF