West Bank04 September, 20263 min read
UN Report Says Israel’s Operation Iron Wall Ethnic Cleansing in West Bank Camps
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More than 33,000 Palestinians displaced from Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps. UN rights office cites ethnic cleansing risk and possible crimes against humanity.
Al Jazeera was read line by line by the Watchdog: 1.4. See the score →
Iron Wall displacement
A United Nations Human Rights report released Friday raised concerns that Israel’s Operation Iron Wall—carried out in January and February 2025—could amount to forcible transfer and “ethnic cleansing” after Israeli forces emptied the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps in the occupied West Bank. The report said Israeli forces killed 102 Palestinians, including 21 children, during the period it examined, and it said those deaths represented 46% of all Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank during the same period. It also said more than 33,000 Palestinians were forced from the three camps, with UNRWA reporting 33,362 people remained displaced as of July and had still not been permitted to return.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the manner in which Operation Iron Wall was conducted suggested an effort to remove as many Palestinians as possible while facilitating further illegal Israeli settlement expansion. The report further stated that measures leaving large parts of the camps uninhabitable “appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing.”
Turk’s warning, Israel’s denial
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said, “The way Operation Iron Wall has been 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.” Al Jazeera reported that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said Israel’s use of air strikes, armoured bulldozers and controlled detonations to render entire areas uninhabitable and prevent the return of residents, in the absence of imperative military necessity, is not permissible under international law. The UN report also said displaced Palestinians told UN investigators that Israeli officers had told them there would be “no more refugee camps” and that they should “all go to Jordan.”
In response, La Nación Costa Rica reported that Israel denied the accusations and that its representatives in Geneva accused the High Commissioner on X of “betraying impartiality, independence, and neutrality to become the epicenter of abominable activism.” La Nación Costa Rica also said the High Commissioner concluded that Israeli security forces forcibly displaced the entire Palestinian population of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank between January and February 2025 and continue to prevent their return.
What happens next
The report described the displacement as “large-scale, long-term and systematic,” and it said that scale and duration raise concerns that the crime against humanity of forcible transfer may have been committed.
It said Israel “must end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as rapidly as possible” and “halt any efforts to forcibly displace more Palestinians,” while also stressing that the use of air strikes, armoured bulldozers and controlled detonations to make camps uninhabitable is not authorized by international law.
On Feb. 23, 2025, Israel’s defense minister ordered Israeli troops to remain in the three camps and said Palestinians expelled from them would not be allowed to return.
The Muslim Network TV report said Israeli forces killed 102 Palestinians during the period examined and that by October 2025, 52% of structures in Jenin camp had been destroyed or damaged, compared with 48% in Nur Shams and 36% in Tulkarm.
Al Jazeera reported that as of July, about 33,362 displaced Palestinian refugees from these camps remained forcibly displaced, according to UNRWA, underscoring the report’s focus on preventing return and the continued impact on civilians.