Israel is expanding demolitions from the West Bank Refugees Houses

During the night, Israeli forces entered the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and began to order its 20,000 Palestinian residents to leave their homes, Jumaa Zawayda, 66, said he would refuse.

“My family left, but I told them that I had to stay, if the Israeli forces come to get a descent into our house, I want to be there to prevent it from being damaged.”

What followed was three days of fear, with the constant sound of shots, explosions and flying drones in the neighborhood, and by issuing orders that Jumaa could not do in the middle of the noise. Then water and electricity were cut, his phone missed battery and Jumaa said he couldn’t stay.

Now, three months later, Jumaa is held on a hill in the city of Jenin, looking at the ghost city of the refugee camp to which he and the other residents are still prevented from returning by the Israeli army.

He tries to see if his house is one of the many destroyed by Israeli forces during their operations against Palestinian armed groups who were present in the camp. The sound of explosions in progress can be heard below.

“Some people told me that they thought our building was demolished, but we do not know with certainty,” said Jumaa, fighting to express themselves through his emotion.

The nine -year -old, who worked in construction, stayed three months in a school that has become Shelter for the displaced residents of the camp. He has now moved into accommodation for university students he shares with his brother.

Before the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Israel was already engaged in a military campaign against armed groups in the West Bank.

A certain number of groups emerged in the densely populated urban refugee camps created for the Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their houses during the war which followed the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

The main groups of the Jenin camp are affiliated with Palestinian Islamic jihad and Hamas. Their fighters mainly attacked the Israeli military forces, in parallel with sporadic attacks against Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

The number of fighters is unknown, but local journalists believe that there were about 150 fighters in the Jenin camp before recent operations by Israel and the Palestinian authority.

The Palestinian authority, which governs certain parts of the West Bank, launched its own repression in the Jenin camp in December 2024 and its forces only withdrew when the Israeli army began its major operation in January.

The Israeli Defense Minister called the “Terror Nests” camps and, in January, intensified his campaign against the armed groups operating inside them – entering and blocking a certain number of refugee camps in the north of the West Bank who house tens of thousands of Palestinians.

He ordered residents to leave and started a wave of construction demolitions, while offering certain residents of brief opportunities to bring together business.

But with Israel, almost completely blocking access to the camps and not to publicly announce which buildings they have destroyed, many Palestinians are distraught whether they have a house to return.

The Palestinian refugee agency of UNRWA said that its best estimate is that Israel has shaved at least 260 buildings containing around 800 apartments during “Iron Wall operation”, focusing on three refugee camps north of the West Bank: Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams. UNRWA estimates that 42,000 Palestinians have been in the camps since January.

In February, the Israeli army announced that it had killed 60 fighters in its operations and arrested 280 others. Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials say that 100 people have been killed in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s operation in January until today.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army destroyed weapons and infrastructure “on a large scale” and said that he had asked soldiers to stay in refugee camps for a year and prevent residents from returning.

The Israeli army told the BBC that militias “exploit the civilian population as human shields and put them in danger by planting explosive devices and hiding weapons.”

On May 1, Israel gave Palestinian officials in the West Bank a new card of 106 buildings which he indicated that he would demolish in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the next 24 hours for “military purposes”. He said residents could request a brief window to get home to recover the essential effects.

Aid agencies claim that the Israel campaign has caused the greatest forced trip of the Palestinians to the West Bank in decades.

“What is happening is unprecedented,” said Roland Friedrich, director of UNRWA’s West Bank.

“In terms of the number of displaced people and the level of destruction, we have never seen anything like this since 1967,” he added, referring to the year Israel began his military occupation of the West Bank.

During the filming of an interview with the mayor of Jenin, the BBC saw Israeli forces have several Palestinians, including workers from the municipality who were trying to enter the camp in order to clean up a way to a neighboring hospital. They were kept for three hours before being released.

“There are major challenges, in terms of citizens’ service services. As everyone knows, the infrastructure of the Jenin camp has been completely demolished,” said Mayor Mohammad Jarrar.

“Israel’s goal is to try to make Jenin’s camp completely unfit to live, and I tell you that it has now become completely invited.”

The Israeli blockade of refugee camps of the West Bank has made the information establishment on what is almost impossible, explains Roland Friedrich of UNRWA, including the exact extent of the demolitions.

Jumaa is one of the displaced Palestinians who obtained a brief visit to the house by Israeli forces in order to recover business. He was just able to seize his identity card and the family dog. Then two months later, in March, Israel published a map of more than 90 buildings which he identified for demolition in Jenin. Jumaa’s residence seemed to be among them.

The Israeli army told the BBC that it was necessary to demolish these buildings in order to improve “freedom of movement” for its forces, but did not confirm whether Jumaa’s home had been destroyed.

The BBC compared the Mars demolition card of Israel to the satellite imaging of Jenin taken a week later. We were able to confirm that, on March 27, at least 33 buildings on the list, including Jumaa, were destroyed. Satellite imagery reveals that many additional demolitions have taken place since January, in particular the construction of new roads by Israeli forces where buildings were previously.

“Why did they demolish my house? I want to know. I want the Israeli army to give me the justification. I had no connection with activists. I am a peaceful person,” said Jumaa.

“I worked to work for 50 years to build my house.”

Despite the learning that his house was demolished, Jumaa remains to insist on the fact that he will return home.

“I will not leave camp. If they do not let me rebuild my house, I will set up a tent in its place,” he said.

“Isn’t it enough that my family was moved in 1948, now we have to face the trip?”

Additional report by Lina Shaikhouni and Daniele Palumbo.