Meanwhile while Trump is distracting everyone, Israel is turning the West Bank into Gaza. Over 40,000 people displaced already, infrastructure destroyed, houses burned down, bombed. All in the name of fighting 'terrorism' and making Israel 'safe'.
Forced displacement in West Bank ‘escalating at an alarming pace’
The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says Israel’s “Iron Wall” offensive in the occupied West Bank has nearly emptied several refugee camps in the territory of their residents.
The operation, now in its third week, is the “single longest in the West Bank since the second Intifada”, it said.
The campaign began in the Jenin refugee camp on January 21, and has now expanded to the Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Far’a camps, UNRWA said. The four camps were collectively home to some 76,600 Palestinian refugees, it said.
The agency said the forced displacement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is “escalating at an alarming pace” and that the development is the “result of coercive and dangerous living conditions”.
“The use of air strikes, armoured bulldozers, controlled detonations, and advanced weaponry by the Israeli Forces has become commonplace – a spillover of the war in Gaza. Such militarised approaches are inconsistent with the law enforcement context of the occupied West Bank, where there have been at least 38 airstrikes in 2025 alone,” it added.
In an earlier update, the agency said that the Israeli offensive has already displaced some 40,000 people in the occupied West Bank.
And Rubio is indeed already defending 'owning' Gaza
US secretary of state backs Trump’s Gaza ‘take over’ plan
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended President Trump’s suggestion that the US will “take over” and “own” Gaza while expelling more than one million Palestinians from their land.
“Someone’s got to go in … you’ve got to clean it up. You’ve got to clean all that out of there even before you begin the process of removing rubble and debris and rebuilding housing, like permanent structures. Who’s going to do that?” Rubio said in a radio interview.
“Right now, the only one who’s stood up and said I’m willing to help do it is Donald Trump. All these other leaders they’re going to have to step up. If they’ve got a better idea then now is the time,” he added.
“We’re still waiting for more countries to step forward and say here’s what we’re willing to do. And right now, they’ve not been willing to do anything – or at least anything concrete.”
UN expert says Trump’s ICC sanctions erode the ‘never again’ legacy of Nuremberg
Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, says she is “gravely concerned” by Trump’s executive action authorising sanctions on the International Criminal Court, its staff and people who cooperate with it.
“By hindering investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity—including those committed against women and children—the US undermines judicial independence and emboldens perpetrators of atrocity,” she said.
“This order strikes at the very foundation of international justice, eroding the ‘never again’ legacy of Nuremberg and possibly violating Article 70 of the Rome Statute,” she added.
She was referring to the Nuremberg Trials held in Germany to punish those responsible for crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II, including the slaughter of more than six million Jews.
Those trials are seen today as the forerunners of tribunals like the ICC, which has prosecuted politicians and soldiers for their crimes against humanity.
Trump’s executive order on Thursday accused the ICC of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”.
I am gravely concerned by the U.S. President’s Executive Action authorizing sanctions on the @IntlCrimCourt, its personnel, and those who cooperate with it.
By hindering investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity—including those committed against women and…
— Margaret Satterthwaite (@SRjudgeslawyers) February 10, 2025
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