Palestinians displaced from refugee camps in the northern West Bank are demanding to return to their homes after an Israeli military takeover of the camps, and they fear that proposed U.S. plans for rebuilding the camps will completely erase them.
United in grief over their sons, either killed or jailed by Israel, these Palestinian mothers formed a “league” to support one another. But as Israel’s violence expands, and new mothers join their league, the group is finding it harder to operate.
Inside the human toll of Israel’s campaign of forcible displacement in the northern West Bank’s refugee camps.
The Israeli army expanded its “Iron Wall” offensive in the northern West Bank, sending tanks into Jenin for the first time in two decades and announcing that displaced residents from Jenin and Tulkarem would not be allowed to return to their homes.
Israel has killed 55 Palestinians after one month of its ongoing “Iron Wall” offensive in the West Bank. Killings, mass displacement, and uncertainty are the new normal.
The forcible displacement of over 40,000 people in the northern West Bank is repeating scenes from Gaza and stoking fears of ethnic cleansing. “The most important thing is to stay in our home,” a resident of al-Far’a refugee camp tells Mondoweiss.
Israel’s ongoing military offensive in the West Bank has forcibly displaced 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas, according to UNRWA.
After a year of near-constant Israeli military raids on their homes and private spaces, women are some of the most affected among the Palestinian residents of Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.
As the Israeli assault on the northern West Bank enters its sixth day, Palestinians launched two attacks on Israelis in Hebron to the south. Meanwhile, the death of six Israeli captives in Gaza caused widespread anti-Netanyahu protests in Tel Aviv.
Since October 7 Israel’s crackdown on the West Bank town of Tulkarem has intensified. Raids are almost daily, have been more destructive and lethal, and have transformed the lives of more than 8,000 Palestinians living in the city’s refugee camps.