Palestinian Territory – The Israeli Defence Minister has ordered the army to take control of three Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank and block residents' return. Euro-Med Monitor strongly condemns the move, which reveals a serious escalation of Israel's apartheid and forced displacement practices against the Palestinian people, beginning with the 1948 Nakba.
The Israeli Defence Minister has publicly confirmed the expulsion of approximately 40,000 Palestinian refugees from the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps in the northern West Bank, citing the need for combat in order to dismantle "terrorist infrastructure" in these areas. What is actually occurring on the ground, however, is the mass displacement of Palestinians from their places of refuge, along with the destruction of their homes, livelihoods, and civilian infrastructure, including water, electricity, and roads. Israel clearly aims to create a new reality that will prevent their short- and long-term return.
The Israeli army's actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, as they are conducting military operations in ways that flagrantly violate international law, which mandates the protection of civilians and civilian objects and prohibits their targeting or subjection to indiscriminate or excessive attacks. Such repeated and large-scale violations demonstrate Israel's blatant disregard for its international legal obligations and pose a serious threat to the civilian population in the West Bank. Immediate international intervention is needed to ensure those responsible for these crimes are held accountable as swiftly as possible.
The Israeli army's deployment of tanks, its establishment of military sites within refugee camps, and its prevention of residents' right to return reflect a deliberate effort to impose a military fait accompli
Moreover, the Israeli army's deployment of tanks, its establishment of military sites within these refugee camps, and its prevention of residents' right to return reflect a deliberate effort to impose a military fait accompli. These actions violate international law and effectively undermine the agreements under which the Palestinian National Authority was formed.
Euro-Med Monitor's field team observed the movement of approximately three Israeli tanks late on Saturday evening. The tanks were travelling from Muqeible, near Israel's Jalamah military checkpoint in Jenin, and positioning themselves near Jenin's refugee camp, marking the first occurrence of its kind since 2002.
Israel's deployment of tanks in densely populated residential areas within a purely civilian environment occurred 33 days after its army launched the large-scale "Operation Iron Wall" in Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp, which it later expanded to include Tulkarm and Tubas, leading to full Israeli control over the northern West Bank camps and the destruction of hundreds of homes. This indicates that the deployment of these heavy vehicles serves no security or military purpose, but is instead part of an Israeli attempt to establish military control over the region.
The Israeli army is systematically destroying the aforementioned areas despite there being no military necessity to do so, using bulldozers to pave new roads over the ruins of destroyed homes. Additionally, the army has been instructed to establish military sites within the camps in an apparent aim to alter the geographical reality of these areas and diminish the symbolic significance of the camps, which represent the Palestinian refugee cause following the displacement of Palestinians from their cities and villages in 1948. The presence of the Israeli army in these camps has destroyed any means of livelihood, leaving thousands of residents displaced, living either in temporary shelters or with relatives.
Euro-Med Monitor warns that Israel may attempt to impose a new fait accompli in all areas under Palestinian National Authority sovereignty, effectively breaking the agreements signed with it and nullifying its role in these areas. This could be a step towards annexing the West Bank and imposing Israeli sovereignty by force, which would be in line with the directives of right-wing Israeli ministers who have declared 2025 to be the year for sovereignty over the region.
Official Israeli statements suggest that the military assault will not be confined to the refugee camps in the northern West Bank, but will spread to other areas in both the northern and southern West Bank, putting hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk of death, injury, arrest, displacement, or loss of property.
Israel's impunity over the past decades was made possible due to international inaction—or complicity—in the face of its crimes of aggression, apartheid, forced displacement, and land seizure over 77 years, as well as the global silence regarding the 15-month genocide in Gaza, has emboldened Israel to intensify and expand its aggression against the Palestinians and the territory it occupies. The ongoing lack of any deterrence or legal consequences increases the likelihood of more crimes being committed by Israel, which poses a serious threat not only to the rights of the Palestinian people but to the stability of the entire international system.
The recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory affirms the illegality of Israel's presence in these areas. The Court confirmed that Israel must end its illegal presence as soon as possible, compensate those affected for their damages, and fulfil its other obligations toward the Palestinian people. The international community must exert effective pressure on Israel to adhere to international law, cease its military operations in the northern West Bank, withdraw from illegally occupied areas, allow residents to return, and halt its decades-long policy of destruction and displacement.
Euro-Med Monitor urges the international community to guarantee the rights of the Palestinian people to live in freedom and dignity; support their right to self-determination under international law; work to end the illegal Israeli occupation and settler colonialism in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; dismantle the system of apartheid and isolation imposed on Palestinians; lift the unlawful blockade on the Gaza Strip; ensure accountability for Israeli perpetrators; and guarantee the right of Palestinian victims to redress and justice.
