UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: new report documents the destruction of Palestinian Refugee Camps in Northern West Bank
On September 4, 2026, the UN Human Rights Office published a report titled "Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank," which denounces that Israeli security forces forcibly displaced the entire Palestinian population of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank (Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm) during the military operation known as "Iron Wall", carried out between January and February 2025, and continue to this day to prevent their return, in violation of international law. These three camps are among a total of 19 camps established in the West Bank to shelter Palestinian refugees following the mass forced expulsion during the Nakba of 1948, administered by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
According to the report, Israeli military and police forces killed civilians, destroyed hundreds of homes, damaged roads and infrastructure, cut off water and electricity supplies, blocked humanitarian access, and forced residents to leave their homes door to door. On February 23, 2025, Israel's Defence Minister ordered the military to remain in the three camps, declaring that displaced Palestinians would not be allowed to return. As of July 2025, according to UNRWA, approximately 33,362 Palestinian refugees remained forcibly displaced. By October 2025, 52 percent of structures in the Jenin refugee camp, 48 percent in Nur Shams, and 36 percent in Tulkarm had been destroyed or damaged.
The report, based on independent monitoring and documentation conducted by the UN Human Rights Office, emphasizes that the large-scale, prolonged and systematic displacement of over 33,000 Palestinians raises serious concerns regarding the crime against humanity of forcible transfer: the use of airstrikes, armored bulldozers and controlled detonations to render entire camps uninhabitable, in the absence of imperative military necessity, is not permissible under international law and appears to amount to collective punishment, with concrete concerns of ethnic cleansing.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that the way in which Operation Iron Wall was conducted suggests its aim was to expel as many Palestinians as possible to make way for new illegal Israeli settlements, in further violation of international law, and called on Israel to end its 59-year occupation of Palestinian territory, in accordance with the conclusion reached by the International Court of Justice more than two years ago.
The report concludes with a series of recommendations, including a call on the Israeli Government to end the occupation, halt unlawful killings, stop the destruction of refugee camps and the expansion of settlements, ensure independent investigations into the crimes committed, and guarantee effective reparations for victims, while also calling on the Government of Palestine to ensure that its security forces comply with international human rights standards.