- Since the start of the Israeli military operation “Iron Wall", on 21 January, at least 45.000 Palestinians in the northern West Bank have been forcibly displaced and 33 have been killed, including 12 children.
- From the Jenin refugee camp, the large-scale operation has expanded to the Tulkarm, Al Far’a, and Nur Shams refugee camps, each time displaying systematic outbursts of violence against Palestinians. Serious international pressure is urgently required for Israel to stop.
- Israeli settlers have also become unbridled and are moving fast across the West Bank with the help of the military to seize land and harass Palestinians.
Ramallah, Paris, 12 February 2024. The anticipated Israeli large-scale military campaign in the West Bank is threatening the entire Palestinian life in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Tanks and bulldozers are flattening and destroying homes, properties and infrastructure in and around refugee camps. Civilians in the northern West Bank and especially refugee camps were forcibly displaced en masse, often with the use of force. Overall, 45.000 Palestinians have been internally displaced in the northern West Bank since the start of "Iron Wall" on 21 January. In addition to Israel’s military operation in the northern West Bank, Israeli settlers, in tandem with military operations, have been attacking Palestinian communities in Area C.
Diana Alzeer, FIDH Vice President and representative of Al-Haq, declares, “What we are witnessing in the West Bank is the worst situation since the Second Intifada; certain aspects of the military campaign may be even worse. The patterns of attacks and methods used are also similar to those seen during Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.” she then adds “The Israeli Occupying Forces have been extremely brutal in their systematic methods to empty refugee camps; they have raided Palestinian houses, destroyed infrastructure and homes, and used aerial attacks and live ammunition to kill Palestinians, and obstructed medical care from communities. Across the entire West Bank, various forms of oppressive and collective punishment measures have been implemented. This illegal occupation and Israel’s settler-colonial apartheid against the Palestinian people must come to an end.”
“This situation is outrageous and completely against international law. Yet no one is batting an eye. It’s as if this violence was sanctioned by the international community. While our international justice system is under attack and funding for NGOs are threatened by far right politicians, the EU cowers away and is failing once again to take a stand for the rights of the Palestinians.” declares Alexis Deswaef, FIDH vice president, who was in the West Bank not later than one month ago.
The military campaign and the destruction of refugee camps in the West Bank, given also the context of Israel’s attack on UNRWA — a means to end the Palestinian right of return and right to self-determination — must cease immediately. Settlers must be stopped from further harassing and attacking Palestinian communities and be held accountable for the crimes being committed. The international community, in line with the July International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, must work together to end Israel’s illegal occupation and colonisation. Allowing Israel to further its annexation plans of the West Bank will only further escalate the situation and give leaders worldwide the green light to commit crimes in their regions. It is time for the international community to protect international law and to end the impunity, starting with Israel.
