The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) released a report Friday finding that Israeli security forces forcibly displaced more than 33,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps in the occupied West Bank in January and February 2025. The OHCHR stated that the forces widely destroyed homes and infrastructure during Operation Iron Wall by cutting off essential services and forcing residents to leave, which the office said violated international law and may amount to forcible transfer.

The report documented Israeli military, police and other security operations in the refugee camps between December 2024 and January 2026. The OHCHR said Israeli forces killed civilians, disrupted water and electricity, restricted humanitarian access, and went door to door forcing residents to leave. By October 2025, 52 percent of structures in Jenin camp, 48 percent in Nur Shams and 36 percent in Tulkarm had been destroyed or damaged.

The OHCHR said more than 33,000 Palestinians were displaced from the camps. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, 33,362 displaced Palestinian refugees remained unable to return as of July 2026. The report also documented 102 Palestinians, including 21 children, killed by Israeli forces during the period it examined.

The office warned that the “large-scale, long-term and systematic” displacement raises serious concerns that the conduct could constitute the crime against humanity of forcible transfer. It further said the widespread destruction in the camps, in the absence of imperative military necessity, appeared to amount to collective punishment, and raises concerns of “ethnic cleansing.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the conduct of Operation Iron Wall suggested an aim to expel Palestinians and facilitate additional Israeli settlements. Türk called on Israel to halt further forced displacement and comply with its obligations under international law.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits individual or mass forcible transfers of protected persons from occupied territory, subject to limited exceptions for evacuations required by civilian security or imperative military reasons. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court identifies deportation or forcible transfer of population as a crime against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

Israel has described Operation Iron Wall as a counterterrorism operation targeting armed groups and weapons infrastructure in the northern West Bank. Human Rights Watch separately reported that the operation emptied the three camps of virtually all residents and caused widespread destruction. In a 2024 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and said Israel must bring it to an end as rapidly as possible.