RismadarVoice Reporters
September 4, 2026
The United Nations Human Rights Office has raised concerns over Israel’s military operation in the occupied West Bank, saying the large-scale displacement of Palestinian residents from refugee camps could amount to collective punishment and raise the risk of ethnic cleansing.
A report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Israel’s Operation Iron Wall, carried out in January and February 2025, resulted in the deaths of 102 Palestinians and the displacement of more than 33,000 residents from the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps.
The report, titled “Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank,” said the use of air strikes, armoured bulldozers and controlled demolitions to make areas uninhabitable and prevent residents from returning could violate international law if not justified by military necessity.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the operation’s conduct suggested an objective of removing large numbers of Palestinians and creating conditions for further expansion of Israeli settlements, which the UN considers illegal under international law.
The report said displaced Palestinians had reported being told by Israeli officers that refugee camps would not return and that residents should leave for Jordan.
According to the UN, the long-term and systematic displacement of civilians could constitute a crime against humanity involving forcible transfer of a population.
The three affected camps are among 19 refugee camps in the West Bank established after the mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Nakba and have been administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
UNRWA data showed that about 33,362 Palestinian refugees from the camps remained displaced as of July.
The report also said at least 21 children were killed during the military operation, including a 10-year-old boy in Tulkarem and a two-year-old girl in Jenin.
The UN called on Israel to end what it described as its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory and urged authorities to halt any actions that could lead to further forced displacement of Palestinians.
