New demolition orders for West Bank camp is ‘more devastating news’

Some 25 buildings face imminent demolition starting on 18 December, impacting hundreds of forcibly displaced Palestinians, the Director of UNRWA Affairs for the occupied West Bank, Roland Friedrich, said on Tuesday in a statement posted on social media.

Furthermore, satellite imagery shows that nearly half of all buildings in the camp, 48 per cent, had already been damaged or destroyed before this latest order.

Goal to control

"This new demolition order fits the pattern we have seen too often this year, with Israeli forces destroying homes to enable their long-term control over the camps in the northern West Bank, permanently altering their topography," said Mr. Friedrich.

"Justified through 'military necessity', these demolitions make no one safer," he added.

In January, the Israeli military launched a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank that has displaced thousands of Palestinian refugees.

'Operation Iron Wall' initially targeted the Jenin refugee camp but expanded to the Tulkarm, Nur Shams, and El Far'a camps.

Distant hope of return

"The forced displacement of the more than 32,000 Palestine refugees in the northern West Bank must not become permanent," Mr. Friedrich said.

"Residents have anxiously waited for 11 months to return home. With each blow of the bulldozers, this hope becomes ever more distant."

Supporting Palestine refugees

UNRWA assists nearly six million Palestine refugees in five locations across the Middle East, including at 19 camps in the occupied West Bank.

Some 13,739 people were registered at Nur Shams camp in 2023, where two UNRWA schools - one each for boys and girls - serve roughly 1,571 students.

Residents also access primary healthcare including reproductive health, infant and childcare, immunisations, screening and medical check-ups, at the camp's sole health centre.

More to follow…