Human Rights Watch: Israel committed "war crimes" by displacing 32,000 Palestinians

Arab Sea Newspaper - Special

Arab Sea_Agencies: Human Rights Watch accused Israel on Thursday of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity by forcibly displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians from three refugee camps in the West Bank in early 2025, demanding urgent international action to hold Israeli officials accountable and stop escalating violations, according to Reuters. In an extensive report entitled "You Erased All My Dreams," the organization documented the displacement of about 32,000 people from the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps during what is known as "Operation Iron Wall" carried out by Israeli forces in January and February. It confirmed that hundreds of homes were demolished, while residents have been prevented from returning until now, despite the passage of more than 10 months. Milena Ansari, a researcher at the organization, said that none of the families affected by the displacement have been able to return to their homes, noting that the current situation represents a "continuing humanitarian disaster." According to the report, Israeli forces used loudspeakers on drones to force families to leave, while property was looted and homes were demolished while residents fled, without providing any form of support or shelter for them. The Israeli army, for its part, commented on the report by saying that the demolition came to prevent the infrastructure from being used by militants, without specifying a date for the return of the residents. It is noteworthy that the Geneva Conventions prohibit forced displacement from occupied territories except in exceptional cases, which was not achieved in this case, according to the organization, which stressed the need to hold Israeli officials accountable for these serious violations.