UN Warns of Ethnic Cleansing in West Bank Refugee Camps

A United Nations report flags serious worries about ethnic cleansing following Israeli operations in the West Bank. The document, titled Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank, details events from January and February 2025. It states that Israel's Operation Iron Wall killed 102 Palestinians. More than 33,000 residents fled their homes in Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem.

Displaced people told Israeli officers they would see no more refugee camps. Officers urged them to leave for Jordan. Such massive, long-term movement of a population looks like collective punishment. It could also count as a crime against humanity known as forcible transfer. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said this on Friday.

The report notes that air strikes and bulldozers made whole areas uninhabitable. Authorities prevented residents from returning without showing military necessity. This violates international law. Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, added that Operation Iron Wall aimed to expel Palestinians to clear land for illegal settlements.

These three camps are part of 19 total in the West Bank. They were built after the Nakba forced expulsion of 1948. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees runs them. As of July, about 33,362 displaced people remained out of their homes, according to UNRWA data.

At least 21 children died during the military operation covered by the report. Saddam Hussein Rajab was ten when he shot in the stomach while waiting for his father at a mosque in Tulkarem. In Jenin, Israeli forces shot a two-year-old girl in the head while she ate dinner with her mother and aunt.

The UN demands Israel must end its unlawful presence quickly. It also calls for an immediate halt to any further forced displacement of Palestinians. The situation threatens entire communities with permanent loss of home and safety.