Israel escalates West Bank demolitions amid illegal settlement expansion 

Israeli forces have begun demolishing dozens of buildings housing Palestinian families in the northern occupied West Bank, forcing mass displacement as winter sets in, and leaving communities scrambling for shelter.

Israeli military bulldozers and cranes tore through residential blocks in the Nur Shams refugee camp on Wednesday, flattening homes that housed about 100 families. Thick clouds of dust rose over the camp as residents watched from a distance, according to an AFP news agency journalist at the scene.

“Being torn away from our homes, our neighbourhoods and our memories is deeply painful,” said Mutaz Mahr, whose building was among those destroyed.

“The occupation tries by every means to wear us down and pressure us,” he told AFP, referring to Israel.

“Our home is dear to us, the memories are dear to us, the family, the neighbours, and the good people are dear to us,” he said as bulldozers advanced. “The first time, our grandparents were displaced, and this is the second time.”

Mahr said he and about 25 relatives were sheltering in a 100-square-metre (120-square-yard) apartment after being driven out of the camp.

The Israeli military claimed the demolitions formed part of an operation against Palestinian resistance groups, a claim that could not be independently verified. Palestinian residents and rights groups say the destruction amounts to collective punishment and forced displacement under occupation.

Nihaya al-Jendi, a member of Nur Shams’s popular committee, said the scale of displacement had already reached crisis levels before the latest raid.

“Today, more than 1,500 families from the camp are still unable to return,” Jendi told AFP. “This is a major catastrophe – a real humanitarian disaster for Palestinian refugees – unfolding before the eyes of the world.”

Israel launched what it calls a security operation earlier this year targeting refugee camps in the northern West Bank, including Nur Shams, Tulkarem and Jenin.

At least 850 homes have been demolished or severely damaged across the three camps, according to Human Rights Watch, which analysed satellite imagery. The group said the destruction appears designed to carve out “clear buffer” zones and permanently reshape the camps’ urban fabric, tightening Israeli control.

More settlements approved

As refugee homes are reduced to rubble, Israel is pushing ahead with illegal settlement expansion. On Wednesday, Israeli authorities approved plans for 126 settler housing units in the Sa-Nur outpost in the northern West Bank, according to Israeli media.

Channel 7 reported that the High Planning Council, operating under Israel’s Civil Administration, greenlit a detailed plan that would allow illegal settlers to return to Sa-Nur, which was evacuated in 2005.

The outpost was dismantled under then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan, which removed settlements from Gaza and four northern West Bank sites. That policy was reversed in March 2024 when Israel’s parliament repealed the disengagement law through legislation known as the “Cancellation of the Disengagement Law”.

Channel 7 said the new plan could take effect within two months.

Israeli moves against the UN

The demolitions and settlement approvals come as Israel escalates pressure on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned an Israeli move to cut electricity or water to facilities owned by UNRWA, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The measure would “further impede” the agency’s ability to function, the spokesperson added. “The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA, its property and assets,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, stressing that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the UN system.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini denounced the decision as part of a “systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” its work supporting Palestinian refugees.

In 2024, Israel’s parliament passed a law banning the agency from operating in the country and barring officials from contact with it. UNRWA continues to operate in occupied East Jerusalem, which the UN recognises as occupied territory despite Israel’s annexation claims.

The agency provides education, healthcare and humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinians across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. As Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza grinds on, critics say the parallel assault on UNRWA and West Bank communities signals a broader effort to dismantle the refugee question altogether.