Palestinians gather their belongings ahead of homes demolition by Israeli forces in the Tulkarem refugee camp, West Bank. AP
Residents hurriedly loaded their few possessions — mattresses, blankets, washing machines — onto vehicles before taking one last look at their homes and fleeing, local official Faisal Salama said.
The demolition order targets some 104 buildings, rendering at least 400 families homeless, Salama added.
Late Wednesday, Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily froze the planned demolitions following a petition by Adalah, a Palestinian human rights group. The court gave the Israeli army until Sept. 2 to respond. However, as of Thursday, none of the displaced had returned. The Israeli military declined to comment.
This latest forced displacement comes amid a sharp escalation of Israeli military assaults on West Bank refugee camps since the onset of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, uprooting tens of thousands of Palestinians in the largest campaign of forced displacement in the West Bank since Israel’s 1967 occupation.
The Israeli military justified the demolitions in Tulkarem by citing a “high level of terrorism” in the area, calling the destruction a “tactical necessity” to enable freedom of movement for troops after other options were exhausted.
Israeli raids have emptied and severely damaged refugee camps such as Tulkarem and nearby Nur Shams, with troops planning to maintain a presence in some camps for up to a year.
Salama said the latest orders have displaced a total of 1,000 families.
“Where will these families live? Where will they go? Their fate is uncertain and unknown,” he said.
Subhi Hamdan, 65, said he was given just one day to leave. Despite registering for aid with the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, he fears he will be left homeless.
“Until now we haven’t seen anything at all,” Hamdan said. “Where can anyone go?”
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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