Israeli bulldozers have flattened vast sections of the nearly deserted Jenin refugee camp, cutting wide roadways through its labyrinth of alleyways. The move echoes tactics employed in Gaza, signaling an extended military presence as troops fortify their positions.
The operation has led to the displacement of at least 40,000 Palestinians from Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarm, marking one of the most significant upheavals in the West Bank in decades. The campaign, which commenced shortly after Israel reached a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, has left the refugee camp in ruins.
“Jenin is a repeat of what happened in Jabalia,” said Basheer Matahen, spokesperson for the Jenin municipality, referring to the devastated refugee camp in northern Gaza. “The camp has become uninhabitable.”
Matahen described a scene of relentless destruction, with at least 12 bulldozers actively demolishing homes and infrastructure. The camp, originally built to house Palestinians displaced in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, has long been a flashpoint of resistance and Israeli military incursions.
Israeli engineering teams have been observed preparing for a sustained occupation, setting up water tanks and generators in a secured area nearly an acre in size. Though the Israeli military has not commented directly on the developments, Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Sunday that troops were preparing for a “prolonged stay.”
“The camps have been cleared for the coming year, and residents will not be allowed to return,” Katz stated, reinforcing suspicions that Israel is planning more than a temporary security crackdown.
The month-long operation in the northern West Bank has involved several brigades backed by drones, helicopters, and—for the first time in decades—heavy battle tanks. This scale of military intervention has not been seen since the Second Intifada more than 20 years ago.
Michael Milshtein, a former Israeli military intelligence officer, confirmed that the mass evacuation of the refugee camps in Nur Shams and Jenin is “unprecedented.”
“I don’t know what the broad strategy is, but there’s no doubt at all that we didn’t see such a step in the past,” Milshtein said.
Israel claims the operation is necessary to dismantle militant networks, particularly those linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have long used the refugee camps as strongholds. However, Palestinians argue that the real goal is to displace the population permanently.
Eighty-five-year-old Hassan al-Katib, who fled his home in Jenin, sees the operation as part of a wider effort to erase Palestinian refugee identity.
“Israel wants to erase the camps and the memory of the camps,” al-Katib said. “They want to erase the name of refugees from the memory of the people.”
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides aid to Palestinian refugees, has also faced growing Israeli pressure. Israel has already banned the agency from operating in East Jerusalem and recently targeted its activities in Jenin.
“We don’t know what the intention of the state of Israel is,” said UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma. “But we do know that there’s a lot of displacement out of the camps.”
International Responses and Diplomatic Tensions
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in Brussels for a meeting with European Union officials, denied accusations that the West Bank operation is aimed at permanently displacing Palestinians.
“These are military operations against terrorists, and no other objectives but that,” Saar said.
However, many Palestinians see an echo of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, an idea that was endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The Palestinian Authority has called for international intervention, with spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh urging the United States to pressure Israel into halting the military campaign.
“We demand that the U.S. administration force the occupation state to immediately stop the aggression it is waging on the cities of the West Bank,” Abu Rudeineh said.
Israeli hardliners have long advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, an area roughly 100 kilometers long that Palestinians see as the heart of a future independent state. However, full annexation could jeopardize Israel’s growing economic and security ties with Arab states, including Saudi Arabia.
Despite these concerns, hardliners in both Israel and the U.S. have been emboldened by the support of strongly pro-Israel figures in the new U.S. administration.
Meanwhile, tensions continue to simmer in Gaza and beyond. The Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage, triggered Israel’s months-long offensive in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry reports that Israel’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 48,000 people, leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.
EU-Israel Diplomatic Talks Resume
Amid rising tensions, Saar met with European leaders to discuss the situation in Gaza and broader Israeli-Palestinian relations. He acknowledged criticism from some EU nations but stressed that dialogue remains essential.
“We know how to face criticism,” Saar said. “It’s okay as long as criticism is not connected to delegitimization, demonization, or double standards … but we are ready to discuss everything with an open mind.”
The EU-Israel Association Council meeting, the first since 2022, sought to find common ground, even as divisions over Israel’s military actions persist. EU leaders remain split, with some advocating stronger support for Israel and others calling for a reassessment of Israel’s human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
In a parallel diplomatic development, Germany’s likely next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has invited Netanyahu to visit, vowing to ensure that the Israeli leader is not arrested under the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.
“I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany,” Merz said after his party’s election victory.
His invitation defies the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli defense officials, and Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes.
As Israeli tanks roll into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years, and the military prepares for an “extended stay,” Palestinians brace for further displacement. The evolving situation threatens to upend the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and complicate Israel’s regional relationships, leaving the future of both the West Bank and Gaza uncertain.
