Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israeli authorities of carrying out a sweeping campaign of forced displacement in the occupied West Bank, saying that "Israel's" January-February 2025 military operations in three refugee camps amounted to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. In a detailed report released the same day, the organization said that more than 32,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps and have been barred from returning, even months after military activities ended.

According to the 105-page investigation, Israeli forces launched what they called Operation Iron Wall on January 21, just days after a temporary ceasefire took effect in Gaza. HRW documented how troops entered the camps with helicopters, drones, armored vehicles, and bulldozers, ordering residents to evacuate through loudspeakers mounted on drones and through door-to-door expulsions. Witnesses described soldiers storming homes, interrogating families, and tearing through belongings before pushing residents out.

"Israeli authorities in early 2025 forcibly removed 32,000 Palestinians from their homes in West Bank refugee camps without regard to international legal protections and have not permitted them to return," said Nadia Hardman, senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "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."

Devastation Without Return

HRW researchers interviewed 31 displaced residents and reviewed satellite images showing widespread devastation. More than 850 structures were flattened or severely damaged as Israeli bulldozers carved new routes into the densely built camps. A separate assessment by the UN Satellite Center found that 1,460 buildings had sustained damage, including hundreds showing signs of moderate destruction.

Residents told the organization they received no shelter or humanitarian support after being forced out. Many sought refuge in overcrowded homes of relatives or inside mosques and schools. One 54-year-old woman recalled the violence and chaos as soldiers cleared her neighborhood: "They were yelling and throwing things everywhere…. It was like a movie scene – some had masks and they were carrying all kinds of weapons. One of the soldiers said, ‘You don’t have a house here anymore. You need to leave.’"

HRW said Israeli forces have continued to block access to the camps, firing on people attempting to reach their homes and preventing most from collecting belongings. Six months after the raids, entrances remain sealed, and large areas have been bulldozed to create wider military passageways.

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Ethnic Cleansing Unveiled

The displaced communities lived in the UN-established camps for generations, tracing their origins to the Palestinians expelled or forced to flee during the 1948 Nakba. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, occupying powers are strictly prohibited from removing civilians except temporarily for imperative military necessity or for their safety, and must ensure their return once hostilities subside. HRW says "Israel" has provided no justification that meets these legal criteria.

Israeli officials told Human Rights Watch that the operation was launched “in light of the security threats posed by these camps and the growing presence of terrorist elements within them.” But HRW reports that the government has offered no evidence to suggest that wholesale expulsion of civilians was the only way to pursue its stated objectives.

Statements by senior officials have further raised alarms. Finance Minister and Minister in the Security Ministry Bezalel Smotrich warned in February that if residents “continue their acts of ‘terrorism,’” the camps “will be uninhabitable ruins,” adding that “[t]heir residents will be forced to migrate and seek a new life in other countries.”

HRW argues that the forcible removal, coupled with deliberate destruction and the denial of return, meets the definition of ethnic cleansing, a term used to describe the unlawful expulsion of an ethnic group from its land.

The report also situates the events within "Israel’s" broader campaign of repression in the West Bank since October 7, noting increased administrative detentions, home demolitions, settlement expansion, and nearly 1,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during that period.

Global Accountability

Human Rights Watch is urging the International Criminal Court and domestic judicial bodies operating under universal jurisdiction to investigate Israeli political and military leaders for their role in the operations. Those named include Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Bezalel Smotrich, Security Minister Israel Katz, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The organization also called on governments worldwide to impose targeted sanctions, enforce arrest warrants, halt arms transfers to "Israel," suspend preferential trade agreements, and ban all commerce tied to illegal settlements.

"Israel’s escalating abuses in the West Bank underscore why governments, despite the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, should urgently act to prevent Israeli authorities from escalating their repression of Palestinians," Hardman said. "They should impose targeted sanctions on Prime Minister Netanyahu, [Security] Minister Katz, and other senior officials responsible for grave crimes against Palestinians and enforce all International Criminal Court warrants."

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