Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank
Women carry children as Israeli forces forcibly displace them from Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, with Israeli soldiers looking on, one with his weapon raised, on February 10, 2025.
© 2025 Wahaj Bani Moufleh
The [Israeli] soldiers came and told us to leave. No one told us where to go, just to get out of the camp. My fear is that what happened in 1948 will happen to us here. I have an inner belief that we won’t be able to come back ever.
– Nadim M., displaced from Tulkarem refugee camp, March 26, 2025
Nadim M., a pseudonym for a 60-year-old father of four, was forced to flee Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in January 2025 when Israeli military forces raided the camp and stormed his home. He told Human Rights Watch that Israeli soldiers restrained him with zip ties, searched his property, and then ordered him and his family to leave, warning them that if they turned to go to the left or to the right they would be targeted by Israeli snipers who were deployed in high places nearby. With no clear destination and no information about available shelters or humanitarian assistance, Nadim M. and his family found refuge in a local mosque that had opened its doors to displaced residents from the camp.
On January 21, just two days after a temporary ceasefire was announced between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, the Israeli military launched “Operation Iron Wall,” a large-scale operation in the West Bank that also involved Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, and Border Police. Senior officials claimed the operation targeted militants in refugee camps in the northern West Bank governorates of Jenin and Tulkarem.
The operation emptied the camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams of virtually all its residents, making it the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank in one operation since the 1967 war. Ten months later, the camps remain empty with approximately 32,000 residents displaced. Since then, the Israeli military has demolished 850 homes and other buildings across all three camps. Nadim M. and his family have not returned to their home and have been struggling to live elsewhere in the West Bank.
This report examines the Israeli government’s conduct of Operation Iron Wall from its start in January 2025 through July 2025, and the resulting mass displacement of Palestinians from three refugee camps in the northern West Bank. Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces committed forcible displacement in violation of the law of occupation under international humanitarian law that amount to war crimes. Human Rights Watch also found that Israeli forces committed the forcible transfer of population and other inhumane acts as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, which are crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Israel’s actions also violated international human rights law, which remains in effect in the West Bank.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its Advisory Opinion of October 22, 2025 on the obligations of Israel in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stated that the court “cannot fail to observe that Israel’s conduct in the Occupied Palestinian Territory raises serious concerns in light of its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law … Thus, the Court reaffirms that Israel remains bound by these obligations and is required to comply with them.”[1]
Human Rights Watch between March and August 2025 interviewed in person and by phone 31 displaced Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps, and analyzed and verified open-source information and satellite imagery.
In the months prior to Operation Iron Wall, low-level clashes took place between Israeli security forces and Palestinian fighters in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps. There were also small-scale clashes in the immediate days leading up to and during the operation in each of the three refugee camps.
On January 21, Israeli forces carried out a massive raid on Jenin refugee camp, deploying Apache attack helicopters, drones, bulldozers, and armored vehicles to support hundreds of ground troops. Israeli soldiers forced residents from their homes amid active military operations. Residents who spoke to Human Rights Watch said they saw bulldozers demolishing roads and buildings as they were being expelled. Similar operations took place in Tulkarem refugee camp on January 27 and in nearby Nur Shams camp on February 9, following the same pattern of displacement and destruction.
Witnesses said soldiers moved systematically through the camps, storming homes, ransacking properties, interrogating residents, and eventually forcing families out. One woman from Nur Shams sa
Women carry children as Israeli forces forcibly displace them from Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank, with Israeli soldiers looking on, one with his weapon raised, on February 10, 2025.
© 2025 Wahaj Bani Moufleh
The [Israeli] soldiers came and told us to leave. No one told us where to go, just to get out of the camp. My fear is that what happened in 1948 will happen to us here. I have an inner belief that we won’t be able to come back ever.
– Nadim M., displaced from Tulkarem refugee camp, March 26, 2025
Nadim M., a pseudonym for a 60-year-old father of four, was forced to flee Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in January 2025 when Israeli military forces raided the camp and stormed his home. He told Human Rights Watch that Israeli soldiers restrained him with zip ties, searched his property, and then ordered him and his family to leave, warning them that if they turned to go to the left or to the right they would be targeted by Israeli snipers who were deployed in high places nearby. With no clear destination and no information about available shelters or humanitarian assistance, Nadim M. and his family found refuge in a local mosque that had opened its doors to displaced residents from the camp.
On January 21, just two days after a temporary ceasefire was announced between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, the Israeli military launched “Operation Iron Wall,” a large-scale operation in the West Bank that also involved Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, and Border Police. Senior officials claimed the operation targeted militants in refugee camps in the northern West Bank governorates of Jenin and Tulkarem.
The operation emptied the camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams of virtually all its residents, making it the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank in one operation since the 1967 war. Ten months later, the camps remain empty with approximately 32,000 residents displaced. Since then, the Israeli military has demolished 850 homes and other buildings across all three camps. Nadim M. and his family have not returned to their home and have been struggling to live elsewhere in the West Bank.
This report examines the Israeli government’s conduct of Operation Iron Wall from its start in January 2025 through July 2025, and the resulting mass displacement of Palestinians from three refugee camps in the northern West Bank. Human Rights Watch found that Israeli forces committed forcible displacement in violation of the law of occupation under international humanitarian law that amount to war crimes. Human Rights Watch also found that Israeli forces committed the forcible transfer of population and other inhumane acts as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, which are crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Israel’s actions also violated international human rights law, which remains in effect in the West Bank.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its Advisory Opinion of October 22, 2025 on the obligations of Israel in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stated that the court “cannot fail to observe that Israel’s conduct in the Occupied Palestinian Territory raises serious concerns in light of its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law … Thus, the Court reaffirms that Israel remains bound by these obligations and is required to comply with them.”[1]
Human Rights Watch between March and August 2025 interviewed in person and by phone 31 displaced Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps, and analyzed and verified open-source information and satellite imagery.
In the months prior to Operation Iron Wall, low-level clashes took place between Israeli security forces and Palestinian fighters in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps. There were also small-scale clashes in the immediate days leading up to and during the operation in each of the three refugee camps.
On January 21, Israeli forces carried out a massive raid on Jenin refugee camp, deploying Apache attack helicopters, drones, bulldozers, and armored vehicles to support hundreds of ground troops. Israeli soldiers forced residents from their homes amid active military operations. Residents who spoke to Human Rights Watch said they saw bulldozers demolishing roads and buildings as they were being expelled. Similar operations took place in Tulkarem refugee camp on January 27 and in nearby Nur Shams camp on February 9, following the same pattern of displacement and destruction.
Witnesses said soldiers moved systematically through the camps, storming homes, ransacking properties, interrogating residents, and eventually forcing families out. One woman from Nur Shams sa