Israel’s expulsion of Palestinians from West Bank in violation of int’l law: UN report

Israel’s forcible displacement of entire Palestinian populations in three refugee camps from the occupied West Bank in January and February 2025 is in violation of international law, according to a UN Human Rights report published on Friday.

The report, titled “Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank”, says Israeli forces deployed as part of the ongoing “Operation Iron Wall” killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure, cut off water and electricity, and barred humanitarian access into the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarm refugee camps, and went door to door to force residents to leave.

On Feb 23, 2025, the Israeli defense minister ordered the Israeli military to remain in the three camps and said Palestinians who were displaced from them would not be allowed to return. As of July this year, about 33,362 displaced Palestine refugees from these camps remained forcibly displaced, according to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The latest UN report emphasizes that the Israeli operation has caused large-scale, long-term and systematic displacement of over 33,000 Palestinians in the region, with some 102 Palestinians, including 21 children killed by Israeli forces.

The Israeli military operation to expel Palestinians from the West Bank is in serious violation of international law, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing, the report noted, urging Israel to end its 59-year occupation of Palestinian territory and halt any efforts to forcibly displace more Palestinians.

Israeli forces must halt its attempts to expel and forcibly displace Palestinians from West Bank, as the move is against international law and rises concerns of ethnic cleansing and crime against humanity, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said on Friday.

The remarks were made based on a UN Human Rights Office report published on the same day. Titled “Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank”, the report specified serious human right violations committed by Israeli forces during its “Operation Iron Wall”, which forcibly displaced the entire Palestinian populations of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank in January and February 2025 and has continued to prevent them from returning home.

“Israeli authorities are still preventing the return of the entire Palestinian populations of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, whom they forcibly displaced in January and February 2025, according to a new UN Human Rights report. Israeli forces went door to door forcing residents to leave the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarm refugee camps. They killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged roads and other infrastructure, and cut off water and electricity. Some of the Palestinians displaced told us that Israeli officers informed them there would be no more refugee camps, and that they should ‘all go to Jordan,'” Al-Kheetan, spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a video statement.

Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and its human rights violations have been catastrophic, the report noted. The OHCHR has called for urgent action by relevant authorities and the international community to end the unlawful Israeli practices and to ensure accountability.

“The large-scale, long-term and systematic displacement of over 33,000 Palestinians from these camps raises serious concerns of the crime against humanity of forcible transfer. Forcing the displacement of their residents and preventing their return appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing. Israel must end its occupation of Palestinian territory and halt any efforts to forcibly displace more Palestinians and to further break the contiguity of a future Palestinian state,” Al-Kheetan said.