Israel committed war crimes in West Bank: HRW
Israel accused of forcibly expelling 32,000 Palestinians in major military operation, Human Rights Watch says
TEL AVIV, Israel (MNTV) — Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by expelling 32,000 Palestinians from three refugee camps in the northern West Bank earlier this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a detailed report.
HRW called for investigations into the human rights abuses and war crimes perpetrated by senior Israeli officials.
The report says that Israel’s January–February raids on the Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and Jenin refugee camps — the largest mass displacement in the territory since 1967 — involved the forced removal of entire populations from their native lands.
HRW named Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Defense Minister Israel Katz among those who must face war crimes investigations.
The Israeli military carried out the operations under “Operation Iron Wall,” saying the raids were necessary to dismantle alleged militant networks.
Israel has said troops will remain in parts of the camps for up to a year, with no clear timeline on when displaced Palestinians can return.
HRW said many Palestinians are now living with relatives or crowding into costly temporary rentals, while the poorest families have taken shelter in public buildings.
The report claims that Israeli forces bulldozed homes, blocked displaced residents from reentering the camps, and provided no shelter or humanitarian support to those forced out.
“With global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank that should be investigated and prosecuted,” said Nadia Hardman, a senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at HRW.
The organization said troops “stormed homes, ransacked properties, tortured residents,” then displaced them en masse.
The findings are based on interviews with 31 Palestinians from the three camps, as well as satellite imagery showing more than 850 homes and buildings destroyed or severely damaged.
Israel has previously told an international news agency that some damage resulted from strikes on militant infrastructure, while other areas were cleared to facilitate troop movement.
The camps — first established after the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 — now resemble dense urban districts housing refugees and their descendants.
Roughly 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled in 1948 and were never allowed to return, a displacement Palestinians call the Nakba, meaning “catastrophe.”
HRW also urged investigations against senior military leaders, including Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, commander for the West Bank, and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military chief; and called for sanctions targeting top Israeli officials.
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