Israel begins demolishing buildings in West Bank camp

Israeli bulldozers began demolishing 25 buildings housing Palestinians in a refugee camp on Wednesday, in what the military said was an effort to root out armed groups in northern areas of the occupied West Bank.

The buildings, home to some 100 families, are in the Nur Shams camp, a frequent site of clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

Israeli military bulldozers and cranes tore through the structures early Wednesday, sending thick plumes of dust into the air, an AFP journalist reported. Many residents watched from a distance.

"Being torn away from our homes, our neighbourhoods and our memories is deeply painful," said Mutaz Mahr, whose building was being demolished.

"The occupation tries by every means to wear us down and pressure us," he told AFP.

Nihaya al-Jendi, a member of Nur Shams's popular committee, said hundreds of families had been forced out of their homes even before a military operation began earlier this year.

"Today, more than 1,500 families from the camp are still unable to return," Jendi said.

"This is a major catastrophe — a real humanitarian disaster for Palestinian refugees — unfolding before the eyes of the world."

The military said the demolitions were part of an operation against militants.

"Following ongoing counterterrorism activity by Israeli security forces in the area of Nur Shams in northern Samaria, the commander of the Central Command, Major General Avi Bluth, ordered the demolition of several structures due to a clear and necessary operational need," the military told AFP in a statement.