Over 20,000 Palestinians displaced by Israeli assault on Jenin refugee camp in West Bank: Official

Israel has forcibly displaced more than 20,000 Palestinians from the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian official said on Sunday, Anadolu news agency reported.

“The (Israeli) occupation has entirely destroyed the Jenin refugee camp and forcibly displaced over 20,000 residents, leaving behind their homes, documents, and personal belongings,” Jenin Deputy Governor Mansour al-Saadi told the Voice of Palestine radio.

The displaced residents are expected to seek shelter in other cities across the West Bank, as destruction caused by the Israeli assault makes their return impossible.

The Israeli attacks and destruction are “a conspiracy against the refugee issue, aimed at erasing it entirely,” Saadi said.

The Palestinian official characterised the Israeli offensive on Jenin city and its refugee camp as “collective punishment” targeting nearly 400,000 residents of the city.

He highlighted the severe economic losses caused by the ongoing assault as well as the disruption of the education system.

He appealed to international human rights and legal organisations to “enter the camp and document the extent of the Israeli crime given the strong likelihood that the bodies of dead and injured individuals remain buried under the rubble of destroyed homes.”

The Israeli escalation follows a broader Israeli military offensive that began on 21 January in Jenin and its refugee camp, as well as surrounding towns, killing at least 25 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The army expanded its assault into Tulkarem on 27 January, killing five more people. On 2 February, another assault was launched in the town of Tammun and the Far’a refugee camp in the Tubas city.

The truce took effect in Gaza on 19 January, halting Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed nearly 48,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: Israeli occupation army expands assault in northern West Bank amid tension