Palestinian activist Farha Abu al-Haija stated that Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank has been transformed into a closed military zone after the displacement of approximately 17,000 Palestinians and its complete evacuation due to the ongoing Israeli aggression that has lasted for over a year.
Since January 21, 2025, the Israeli occupation army has been conducting a military operation in the northern West Bank, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” which began in Jenin camp and later expanded to the Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps.
The occupation forces have imposed a siege on the three camps, along with widespread destruction of infrastructure, homes, and shops, leading to the displacement of approximately 50,000 Palestinians from the three camps, according to official figures.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Abu al-Haija, a member of the Jenin camp services committee, stated that Israel has completely or partially destroyed more than 800 homes, burned others, and completely destroyed the camp’s infrastructure and institutions.
She noted that demolition and arson operations continue daily in the camp, which has displaced more than 17,000 residents, leaving them in dire living and psychological conditions.
Abu al-Haija explained that during the military operation, the occupation army began paving new roads within the camp on the ruins of Palestinian homes, “a dangerous geographical change, indicating an intention to reshape the camp and erase its original character.”
These developments come amid an ongoing Israeli escalation in the West Bank that has persisted for over two years, marked by raids, arrests, and assassinations, coinciding with the genocidal war that began in the Gaza Strip on October 8, 2013, and lasted for two years.
Abu al-Haija says that displacement was the most difficult for Palestinians in the camps of the northern West Bank, “where families were scattered among villages, towns, and neighborhoods in the city of Jenin, in harsh living and psychological conditions.”
She points out that the displaced lost their homes and livelihoods, their families were torn apart, and a large number of children were deprived of regular education, severely damaging the educational process.
She notes that there have been partial attempts to rescue students by providing buses to transport them from displacement camps to host schools in neighboring villages and towns, “but the educational situation remains fragile and severely damaged.”
