The forced displacement of Palestinian population centers and refugee camps, especially in the Jenin and Tulkarm governorates in the northern occupied West Bank, has escalated at an alarming rate, as the Israeli occupation forces forced the displacement of 40,000 Palestinians from the refugee camps at gunpoint, and the occupation is looking to remain in the camps and not allow the Palestinian residents to return to them.

“Since the start of the military operation ‘Iron Wall’ by the Israeli occupation forces on January 21, many refugee camps have been almost emptied of their residents. This operation, which has been ongoing for more than 4 weeks, is now the longest in the West Bank since the second intifada, according to the UNRWA agency.

The military operation began in Jenin camp, expanded to include Tulkarm, Nur Shams and Al-Far'a camps, and led to the displacement of 40,000 Palestinian refugees. The occupation forces had begun carrying out large-scale operations in the West Bank in mid-2023.

Since then, thousands of families have been forcibly displaced. Repeated and destructive operations have rendered refugee camps in the north uninhabitable, trapping residents in periodic displacement.

In 2024, more than 60% of displacements were the result of occupation forces’ operations, in the absence of any judicial orders.

This forced displacement comes amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the West Bank, where Israeli military operations have led to widespread destruction of infrastructure and homes, and a severe shortage of basic materials and medical services, exacerbating the suffering of residents who were forced to leave their homes.

Israeli Security Minister Yisrael Katz announced the displacement of 40,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, due to the intensive Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank.

Katz confirmed that the occupation army expanded its operations in the northern West Bank, especially in Qabatiya, noting that the Israeli forces were reinforced with additional armored units.

He also announced the suspension of the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the camps, in a move that further exacerbates the humanitarian crisis facing thousands of displaced persons. Katz explained that he had issued orders to the occupation army not to allow residents to return to the camps, stressing that the occupation forces would remain for a long time inside these areas, in what he described as "preventing the return of terrorism," in reference to the continued military repression and mass displacement of Palestinians.

UNRWA warned that the "Iron Wall" operation carried out by the occupation forces has led to the emptying of many refugee camps in the northern West Bank, adding that the forced displacement of Palestinian communities "is escalating at an alarming rate."

“Forced displacement in the occupied West Bank is the result of an increasingly dangerous and coercive environment,” UNRWA said. “The use of airstrikes, armored bulldozers, controlled explosions and advanced weaponry by Israeli forces has become commonplace – an extension of the war in Gaza. Such military tactics are inconsistent with the law enforcement context in the occupied West Bank, where at least 38 airstrikes were carried out in 2025 alone.”

UNRWA stressed the need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times, and that “collective punishment” is completely unacceptable. “Jenin camp is now empty of residents, evoking memories of the second intifada. This scene is set to be repeated in other camps,” it said.