Israel accused of war crimes over expulsion of 32,000 refugees from West Bank camps

Israel’s forced displacement of the populations of three West Bank refugee camps earlier this year amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has found.

Around 20,154 people were expelled from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps during “Operation Iron Wall”, an Israeli military operation that began on 21 January, just days after a temporary ceasefire was announced in Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Another 11,765 have been displaced from the Jenin refugee camp as a result of operations by Israeli and Palestinian forces in 2025, bringing the total to nearly 32,000, OCHA figures show.

In a damning 105-page report, HRW concluded that Israeli forces issued abrupt orders for civilians to leave their homes, with soldiers methodically storming homes, ransacking properties, interrogating residents, and forcing families out.

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The Israeli military said these were counterterror operations, aimed at thwarting imminent terror attacks and preserving its mobility in all areas of the West Bank. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as “another step toward achieving the goal we have set – strengthening security in Judea and Samaria”.

But Nadia Hardman, senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at HRW, said Israeli authorities “forcibly removed 32,000 Palestinians from their homes in West Bank refugee camps without regard to international legal protections and have not permitted them to return”.

She added: “With global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank that should be investigated and prosecuted.”

Israeli authorities failed to provide shelter or humanitarian assistance to displaced residents, with many sheltering with relatives and friends, or turning to mosques, schools and charities for help, the report states.

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The Israeli military told The Independent in a statement: “About 10 months ago, the IDF launched Operation ‘Iron Wall’ in the camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur al-Shams, in light of the security threats posed by these camps and the growing presence of terrorist elements within them. The operation was based on the understanding that terrorists exploit the terrain and the densely built environment of the camps, which restricts the IDF’s freedom of action.

“Since the IDF launched the operation, terrorism in Judea and Samaria has decreased by 70 per cent.”

It said soldiers uncovered terrorist infrastructure and weapons during the operation, and added it was “acting to reshape and stabilise the area” by demolishing rows of buildings.

“A public notice was issued before the demolitions, giving residents sufficient time to submit objections and petitions to the High Court of Justice,” the statement continued.

“The IDF will continue to act to thwart terrorism in north Samaria, in accordance with international law and the rulings of the Israeli High Court of Justice, while making feasible efforts to avoid harm to the civilian population.”

The report, titled “‘All My Dreams Have Been Erased’: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank”, includes interviews with 31 displaced Palestinians from the three camps, and analysed satellite imagery, Israeli military demolition orders, and verified photos of the military operations, HRW said.

One 54-year-old woman told the organisation that Israeli soldiers “were yelling and throwing things everywhere…. It was like a movie scene – some had masks and they were carrying all kinds of weapons. One of the soldiers said, ‘You don’t have a house here any more. You need to leave.’”

The three camps were first established in the 1950s to house Palestinians who were expelled from their homes or who fled from Israel proper after the Jewish state was created in 1948.