HRW accuses Israel of war crimes over West Bank camp displacements
Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity by forcibly displacing 32,000 Palestinians from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.
The rights group released its 105-page report, calling for criminal investigations into senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The findings document what HRW describes as ethnic cleansing during “Operation Iron Wall“, a large-scale military operation in the West Bank that started on January 21.
Omar Shakir, HRW’s Israel/Palestine director, said in a post on X that the displacements were a “second Nakba”, referring to the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with Israel’s establishment in 1948.
He also said this was the “second largest – after Gaza – displacement of Palestinians since 1967”.
It's not just Gaza. New @hrw 105 pg report finds that Israel’s emptying of three West Bank refugee camps since early 2025—forcibly displacing 32,000 people & destroying 100s of homes—amount to war crimes, ethnic cleansing & crimes against humanity. A🧵1/7 https://t.co/2TepaSGv3S pic.twitter.com/87BqVWxScX
— Omar Shakir (@OmarSShakir) November 20, 2025
Israeli forces raided Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams camps in January and February, ordering residents to leave via loudspeakers mounted on drones before demolishing homes.
Satellite imagery analysis shows more than 850 buildings destroyed or heavily damaged. Displaced residents have not been permitted to return.
Israeli officials say their operations are part of a broader counterinsurgency strategy across the territory. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned in February the camps would become “uninhabitable ruins” if residents “continue their acts of terrorism”.
HRW is urging governments to impose targeted sanctions on Israeli officials and enforce International Criminal Court arrest warrants.
Satellite images show scale of Israel’s destruction to West Bank camps
Here are some satellite images gathered by Human Rights Watch of the refugee camps where Israel has carried out large-scale raids over the past year.
“The Israeli military had razed and bulldozed homes, clearing areas and demolishing residential buildings, for what in the satellite imagery appears to be new widened military access roads,” HRW said.
Nur Shams refugee camp, in the northwest of the occupied West Bank. The image on the left was taken in October 2024 and the one on the right was taken in July 2025.
Jenin refugee camp, which has been heavily targeted by Israeli forces. The one on the left was taken in November 2024 and the image on the right was taken in July 2025.
Tulkarem refugee camp months apart
