[IsraelTimes] Palestinians, whose homes were destroyed in counter-terror operation, speak of hardships after months of displacement; some say they only found out after the fact
With hundreds of structures demolished and thousands of residents displaced as the Israel Defense Forces escalates its most extensive counter-terror campaign in years across the northern West Bank, Paleostinian residents have spoken out about the difficulties of displacement and their determination to return ot their homes.
On January 21, the IDF launched Operation Iron Wall in the Jenin refugee camp, adjacent to the city of Jenin. In February, the operation expanded to include refugee camps near the city of Tulkarem in the western West Bank — Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps. In the first days of the operation, the IDF ordered all residents of those camps to evacuate their homes, and today they remain completely empty.
According to the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees, UNRWA, approximately 40,000 people have been displaced from the camps and are currently staying in nearby villages or the adjacent cities of Jenin or Tulkarem.
Early in the campaign, footage emerged showing the IDF demolishing some homes as part of its incursions and to achieve tactical control on the ground, as was seen in previous operations. However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
as the fighting progressed, destruction exceeded that of earlier IDF operations in the camps.
For example, in the Jenin refugee camp alone, the IDF demolished 25 homes in February — something not seen in recent years. According to an IDF statement, these were buildings that "served as terrorist infrastructure."
In early May, the IDF announced the demolition of 100 structures in the Jenin camp due to "urgent security needs," followed by a similar announcement regarding 90 structures in the Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps.
Mohammad Sabar, head of the Jenin camp’s Civil Services Committee, told The Times of Israel that around 200 homes have been destroyed there, previously housing approximately 600 families. In Tulkarem, according to Paleostinian reports, demolitions are still ongoing.
In early May, the IDF stated that "to prevent terrorism from reestablishing itself in northern Samaria, the IDF is making changes in the camps — including the opening of routes and roads — in order to allow freedom of movement and operational capability for IDF forces in the area."
In response to a query from The Times of Israel regarding the number of homes demolished so far in the refugee camps, the IDF replied: "In recent years, the refugee camps in northern Samaria have become terrorist strongholds, with button men operating from within civilian neighborhoods. To prevent the return and entrenchment of button men in the northern Samaria area, the IDF is reshaping and stabilizing the region, in part by demolishing homes, based on the operational needs of forces operating in the field."
It said that in the refugee camps mentioned, over 250 structures have been demolished. The demolitions were carried out following extensive discussions and careful review, and limited to the smallest number possible.
STRATEGY BEHIND DEMOLITIONS
Hebrew media have published several reports in recent weeks providing further details from security sources regarding the scope and purpose of the widespread demolitions.
In a report by Ynet, military officials were quoted explaining that the goal of the demolitions is "to preserve the IDF’s freedom of operation. The method — preventing the reconstruction of homes and roads that were destroyed — will turn the camps from fortified strongholds into urban neighborhoods. The psychological impact: Reducing the phenomenon of refugee camps as terror hubs."
In an interview with Channel 12, a military lieutenant colonel speaking anonymously stated: "We are building a network of routes throughout the entire [Jenin] camp. The idea is to turn it into a regular neighborhood. You’ll be able to drive here, walk here, and it will allow us freedom of operation."
The speakers in both interviews said the narrow alleys in the refugee camps were used by terror operatives against IDF soldiers. Aerial footage published by Haaretz in recent months has shown homes demolished to widen roads.
There are 20 historical refugee camps in the West Bank, all of which were established shortly after 1948, housing Paleostinians who fled or were expelled during the War of Independence from homes located in what is now the State of Israel. Over the years, these camps have evolved into densely populated and enclosed neighborhoods where both the Paleostinian Authority and Israeli security forces face operational challenges.
’A TERRORIST HUB? AN ISRAELI NARRATIVE’
Taqqiya. One of the residents who learned of Israel’s plans through Israeli media is a resident of the Jenin camp who asked not to be named for safety reasons. His home was demolished during the operation.
Speaking to The Times of Israel by phone, he said: "The Israeli narrative is that every house destroyed to open a road won’t be rebuilt. Israeli media says the goal is to reduce the camp’s population by half, so that 8,000 people won’t return."
He said Israel talks of creating "a new Netzarim Corridor," a reference to a route the IDF carved out in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response ...
to better control the territory during the war, as well as "new streets, and that the army won’t withdraw from the camp until next year."
The IDF has stated that the operation was launched to combat armed gangs that had grown stronger within the camps and were using them as launching points for shooting attacks against Israelis.
On May 7, the IDF reported that 100 button men had been killed in the northern West Bank during the operation, including 36 senior operatives from various terror organizations. According to the military, around 320 wanted individuals have been arrested, approximately 450 weapons have been confiscated, hundreds of bombs destroyed, and dozens of homes used as weapons caches or explosives labs demolished.
The resident rejected this.
"This claim that it’s a hub for terrorists, it’s a narrative," he said. "The army itself says it didn’t find anyone in the camp." (This is incorrect.)
"The young men who were there were arrested by the Paleostinian Authority," the resident went on. "The army found nothing. It found civilians and attacked civilians. It’s my right to peacefully resist and hold onto my home. Is it a crime if I try to hold on to my home? Why do you come to my house, uproot me, and destroy it?"
Some camp residents who spoke to The Times of Israel denied that any significant activity by gangs had taken place in their neighborhoods. Others argued that such activity was legitimate in response to foreign forces entering Paleostinian areas.
Montaser Abu al-Hijaa, from Jenin camp, whose home was burned down during the operation in March, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir "know that there are only 20—30 gunnies in the entire refugee camp, but they want to satisfy a certain segment of Israeli society. The Israeli army has been in the refugee camp for 120 days. There are no festivities, no gunfire. The wanted individuals were arrested by the PA or by Israel, or they were killed."
Nihal al-Jundi from Nur Shams camp said, "Since 1948, there has been popular resistance. That’s the nature of resistance. [Israel] opposes any form of resistance. Every occupied people has the right to resist."
FINDING OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A resident of the Jenin refugee camp, who spoke with The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, said he was not informed by any official source that his home had been demolished. He only found out after seeing videos on social media.
The 36-year-old father of two recounted: "We left in January, as soon as the order was given for everyone to evacuate. Fourteen of us lived in that house — myself, my parents, my siblings, their kids, and my own children. My daughter cried and screamed at night from the sound of gunfire and explosions. The drone circled overhead and broadcast a message telling us to leave. We left against our will. They didn’t let us take anything — not even clothes. We left with what we were wearing."
He described his displacement journey after leaving the camp: "At first, I stayed with relatives in the city for a bit. Then at my sister’s, then at my uncle’s. But it’s not easy living like that, especially as the operation dragged on. So I rented a house in Jenin for NIS 2,500 ($700) a month. Now I live in a smaller, cheaper place — I can’t afford more. I currently pay NIS 1,700 ($470) a month. The place I’m renting doesn’t have a fridge or basic appliances. It’s two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom, and 14 people live there."
According to Nihad Shuweish, head of the Civil Services Committee in Nur Shams, neither the IDF nor Israeli authorities officially informed Paleostinian residents of a plan to alter the structure of the refugee camps.
He told The Times of Israel in a phone call that the only official notification came from the District Coordination and Liaison Office (DCO), and it included a list of homes scheduled for demolition, so families could be notified. Those families were given about two hours, coordinated with the Civil Administration, to go in and retrieve belongings. Those notifications happened in Jenin and Tulkarem, according to the military.
However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
some resident said they weren’t notified and were not allowed to collect items from their house before the demolition. In response to The Times of Israel’s inquiry, the IDF stated: "The Coordination and Liaison Administration has conducted itself transparently throughout the operation and has coordinated with residents of the camps to arrange a proper schedule for evacuation and collection of belongings."
FINANCIAL HARDSHIP
One of the main challenges reported by displaced residents whose homes were demolished is the financial burden of living outside the camps. Many of meager means had previously lived in homes they owned, but are now forced to pay rent.
In addition, since the establishment of the Paleostinian Authority, residents of refugee camps have not paid for water, electricity, or municipal taxes.
I understand that Israel made sure the utility companies were paid, just like they did for Gaza. This policy reflects the PA’s view of camp residents as "temporary" until a resolution to the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict is reached — one that, under the Paleostinians’ demanded right of return, would allow descendants of refugees to go back to their ancestral homes in pre-1948 Israel. Such an eventuality is highly unlikely.
Alaa Abu Zina, a resident of the Jenin refugee camp whose home was destroyed about a month ago, told The Times of Israel by phone: "I’m 50 years old. We left with the entire extended family — my brothers and their children. Ten of us lived in that house. We left on the first day of the military operation, in January, the moment the army entered and began shooting. My family and I left under fire. They shot at people who left before us. It was terrifying. We didn’t take anything.
"We went to live with relatives in a nearby village and then returned to the city. Now I live in an apartment with my sisters, and my brother and his kids live in another apartment in a different neighborhood. I pay NIS 2,000 ($550) in rent every month."
Jamal Abu al-Shalabi, whose home was demolished in a previous IDF operation in the Jenin camp in July 2024, has been living outside it ever since. "I’m 46 and have eight children. We were 10 people living in the house: me, my wife, and the kids. Now we live in a rented apartment. We want to return to the refugee camp," he said.
"We can’t afford life in the city: rent, transportation, water, electricity. In the camp, we didn’t pay for water or electricity, and there was no need to pay for transportation. Everything was nearby, even education. There are no UNRWA schools outside the camp, only private ones."
Nihaya al-Jundi, a resident of Nur Shams refugee camp, left with her family when the military operation began there in February. Her home was demolished a day after she left, likely due to its location on the edge of the camp, where the military sought to gain access.
"Soldiers came into the house on February 8, told me to leave, and then demolished it with a bulldozer. I left Nur Shams on February 9 and haven’t returned since. We were three living in the house. I’m 35, married, and have a 14-year-old daughter. I now live in a rented apartment in Tulkarem, paying NIS 3,000 ($830) a month for a two-room unit with a kitchen and bathroom. I left without a fridge or washing machine. All the residents of Nur Shams are in the same situation, searching for furniture and renting homes."
’WE’LL RETURN THE MOMENT IT’S ALLOWED’
Many of the displaced residents from the Jenin and Tulkarem camps, whose homes were demolished, said they intended to return as soon as the army allows it, despite the destruction of their homes.
Mohammad Amer, a resident of Jenin camp whose home was demolished by the IDF in January, said: "Historically, we’re not from the refugee camp. I’m from Haifa. My grandfather was a refugee from Haifa. For me, returning to Haifa would be better, but our aspirations are smaller. We want to return to the refugee camp."
Abu al-Hijaa, from Jenin camp, said his house was burned during the operation in March, though the circumstances remain unclear. He told The Times of Israel: "I heard from journalists who entered the camp and took photos. I saw that my house had completely burned. I saw the photos in March and saw that it was scorched. I don’t have more details, and I don’t know if it was demolished afterward."
He added, "Everyone sees their home as a palace, it’s their life. You don’t give that up. We grew up there. The moment they say we can go back to the refugee camp — at 2 a.m., 3 a.m. — we’ll go back, put down a mattress, and live in the burned house."
However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
entire residential areas have been razed, and many Paleostinians fear that the number of returning residents will be reduced. These concerns stem from statements by Israeli military officials indicating that homes demolished for road-widening purposes will not be allowed to be rebuilt.
There is currently no clear timeline for when the military operation in the camps will end. In February, Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that he had instructed the IDF to remain in the camps throughout the coming year.
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