The Israeli army began on Monday evening implementing a large-scale plan to demolish 106 residential buildings in the Tulkaerm and Nur Shams refugee camps, located in the northern part of the occupied West Bank.
According to Channel 14, a Hebrew-language outlet closely linked to decision-making circles within the Israeli government, demolition operations commenced overnight between Monday and Tuesday, though no precise details regarding the process or its expected duration have been disclosed.
For his part, the Governor of Tulkarem, Abdullah Kamil, confirmed that the occupation forces had started demolishing 15 housing units in Nur Shams camp, describing the actions as “reflecting the sadistic criminal mentality adopted by the Israeli authorities against our people.”
In an official statement, Kamil stressed that “the ongoing escalation of the aggression only deepens the suffering of citizens and exacerbates the crisis of forced displacement,” adding that “forcing residents from their homes under flimsy security pretexts has no basis in legal or humanitarian justification.”
Earlier, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli bulldozers had already begun demolition works in the Al-Manshiya neighbourhood within Nur Shams camp, targeting multi-storey residential buildings.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) had earlier condemned the demolition plans, describing them as “collective punishment” and warning that the measures would result in the displacement of thousands of Palestinian refugees, in clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
These demolitions form part of a broader military assault initiated by the occupation forces in January 2025, initially concentrated in Jenin camp before expanding to Tulkarem and Nur Shams, and which remains ongoing.
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the destruction of private property by an occupying power is only permissible where rendered necessary by military operations — conditions that, according to the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, are not met in most cases of the current demolitions.
Furthermore, the policy of collective punishment, including the demolition of homes due to alleged acts by individuals, constitutes a violation of Article 33 of the same convention, which explicitly prohibits such practices.
