UNRWA warns of permanent displacement after Israeli demolition orders in Nur Shams camp
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has warned that new Israeli demolition orders in the occupied West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp risk permanently displacing hundreds of people.
Earlier, we reported that the Israeli military plans to demolish 25 residential buildings in Nur Shams camp this week.
In a statement posted on X, Roland Friedrich, UNRWA’s director of affairs for the occupied West Bank, said the latest order would affect hundreds of forcibly displaced Palestinian refugees, with demolitions expected to begin on December 18.
Friedrich said satellite imagery shows that even before the latest order, about 48 percent of all buildings in the camp had already been damaged or destroyed.
“This new demolition order fits the pattern we have seen too often this year, with Israeli forces destroying homes to enable their long-term control over the camps in the northern West Bank, permanently altering their topography,” he said.
Canadian MPs denied entry into West Bank
A delegation of 30 Canadians, including six members of parliament, have been denied entry into the occupied West Bank, according to CBC News.
A spokesperson for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), which had members participating in the trip, told CBC News on Tuesday that Israeli authorities asked each delegate to sign a form declaring they acknowledged being a threat to public safety. The delegates declined to sign the document.
NCCM chief executive Stephen Brown, who was not part of the delegation, described the decision as “deeply troubling and extremely disappointing”. In a statement emailed to CBC News, Brown added that members of the group had been granted electronic travel authorisations by Israel before arriving at the border.
The delegation had planned to meet civil society groups, Palestinian refugees and internally displaced people, as well as officials from the Canadian government and the Palestinian Authority.
According to the statement, the delegates are safe and are now travelling back to Jordan. They plan to return to Canada after attending a series of meetings in Jordan.
