Israel’s expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from three West Bank towns in early 2025 amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch asserted on Thursday, calling for international measures to hold Israeli officials accountable and stop further alleged abuses.

The US-based rights group said about 32,000 residents of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces during Operation Iron Wall in January-February. The displaced have been barred from returning, and hundreds of homes were demolished, said the group’s 105-page report, titled “All My Dreams Have Been Erased.”

“Ten months after their displacement, none of the family residents have been able to go back to their homes,” said Milena Ansari, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who worked on the report, speaking to Reuters on Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement to Reuters on Wednesday that it needed to demolish some civilian infrastructure so that it could not be exploited by terrorists. It did not say when residents could return.

In January, the military launched its offensive against terror operatives in the northern West Bank. Operation Iron Wall began in the Jenin refugee camp, adjacent to the city of Jenin, and later expanded to include refugee camps near the city of Tulkarem in the western West Bank — the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps.

There are 20 historical refugee camps in the West Bank, all of which were established shortly after 1948, housing Palestinians 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.

The IDF’s offensive followed a spike in West Bank violence, following October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating invasion of southern Israel, triggering a war in the Gaza Strip.........

© The Times of Israel