Israeli bulldozers on Wednesday began demolishing Palestinian homes in the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of the city of Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank.
اضافة اعلان
Tulkarm Governor Abdullah Kamil said in a press statement received by Anadolu Agency that Israeli forces had started implementing a decision to demolish 25 homes inside the Nur Shams camp, describing the move as a “dangerous escalation targeting the Palestinian presence in the refugee camps and constituting collective punishment against civilians.”
Kamil added that the demolitions come as part of a systematic policy aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians and altering the demographic reality of the camp.
He noted that the affected families are facing the risk of displacement amid the continued targeting and destruction of infrastructure and homes, accompanied by worsening humanitarian suffering for residents.
The governor renewed his call on the international community and human rights organizations “to intervene urgently to stop the crime of aggression against Palestinians in the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, and against the Palestinian people everywhere.”
On Friday, Israel’s Supreme Court approved the demolition of 25 residential buildings in the Nur Shams camp, despite acknowledging that they are civilian structures.
The Arab human rights organization Adalah said on Friday that the Supreme Court issued a late-night decision on Wednesday rejecting a petition submitted by the center, along with Palestinians from the Nur Shams camp and adjacent areas, against the demolition orders targeting 25 civilian residential buildings in the camp.
Since January 21, 2025, the Israeli army has continued its offensive in the northern West Bank, beginning in the Jenin refugee camp and later extending to the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps. The campaign has resulted in the destruction of thousands of homes and the displacement of more than 50,000 Palestinians.
Since the start of the war on Gaza on October 8, 2023, Israel has intensified its measures in the West Bank, including home demolitions, the displacement of Palestinians, and the expansion of settlement construction—steps Palestinians say are paving the way for the formal annexation of the West Bank.
The escalation by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has resulted in the killing of at least 1,104 Palestinians, the injury of around 11,000 others, and the arrest of more than 21,000 people since October 8, 2023.
