UN flags ethnic cleansing concerns in West Bank

The United Nations warned on Friday that Israel's forced displacement of the entire Palestinian populations of three West Bank refugee camps last year could amount to crimes against humanity, as it appeared to amount to collective punishment and raised concerns of ethnic cleansing.

In a report, the UN rights office described how a military operation launched in the north of the occupied territory in January 2025 had forcibly displaced over 33,000 people. They cut off water and electricity and barred humanitarian access to the camps before going door to door "forcing residents to leave", it added.

At the start of operation "Iron Wall", Israeli military, police and other forces entered the camps and killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes and damaged infrastructure, the report said. A few days into the operation, Israeli forces "forcibly displaced their population in their entirety", it added.

"The large-scale, long-term and systematic displacement of over 33,000 Palestinian refugees from refugee camps such as Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm during Israel's Operation Iron Wall ... raises serious concerns of the crime against humanity of forcible transfer," it warned.

As of July this year, 33,362 Palestinian refugees displaced from the three camps had not been permitted to return, according to the UN. Israel's actions "appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing", it warned.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said that the way the Israeli operation was conducted "suggests its aim was to expel as many Palestinians as possible and to make way for more illegal Israeli settlements, in further violation of international law".

Israel announced on February 23, 2025 that its army had emptied the three refugee camps, which figure among a total of 19 across the West Bank.