Israel extends the demolition of houses for the west shore

On the night of Israeli troops, Jenin’s refugee camp on the occupied western shore and began to order their 20,000 Palestinian residents to leave their homes, 66-year-old Jumaa Nazid said he would refuse.

“My family is left, but I told them that I should stay when Israeli forces will raid in our house, I want to be there to stop its damage.”

Then there were three days of fear, with a constant sound of shots, explosions and drones flying around the neighborhood, and issuing orders which Jumaa could not understand the background of noise. Then the water and electricity were cut off, his phone ended, and Jumao felt he could no longer stay.

Now, three months later, Jumao stands on a hill in Jenin, looking at the ghostly town of the refugee camp, to which he and other residents still interfere with returning Israeli military.

He is trying to find out if his home is one of the many destroyed Israeli forces during the activities of the Palestinian armed groups that were present in the camp. Below you can hear the sound of current explosions.

“Some people told me that they thought our building was demolished, but we probably don’t know,” Jumao says, trying to express himself through his emotions.

The father of nine years who worked in construction spent three months at a school that turned to the displaced residents of the camp. He has now switched to the university students, which he shares with his brother.

Prior to the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Israel had already participated in a military campaign against armed groups on the West Bank.

A number of groups appeared in the densely populated urban refugee camps created for the Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the war, which followed the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

The main groups in the Jenin camp are related to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Their fighters mostly attacked Israeli military forces, as well as sporadic attacks on Israeli settlers on the Western Bank.

The number of fighters is unknown, but local journalists estimated that there were about 150 fighters in the Jenin camp before the recent Israeli and the Palestinian administration operations.

The Palestinian administration, which controls the parts of the western shore, launched its own repression at Jenin’s camp in December 2024, and its forces departed only when the Israeli military launched their main operation in January.

The Israeli Defense Minister called the “Nest of Terror” camps, and in January strengthened the campaign against the armed groups operating inside them – entering and blocking a number of refugee camps on the northern coast, where tens of thousands of Palestinians live.

He ordered the residents to leave and began a wave of construction demolitions, giving some residents a short opportunity to collect things.

But when Israel almost completely blocks access to the camps and not publicly announce which buildings they destroyed, many Palestinians were embarrassed if they had a home to return.

The Palestinian Palestinian Refugee Agency says its best assessment is that Israel has destroyed at least 260 buildings containing about 800 apartments during the “operating wall”, focusing on three refugee camps in the north of the west shore: Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams. Ef estimates that since January 42,000 Palestinians have been removed from the camps since January.

In February, the Israeli military announced that 60 fighters were killed and 280 others were arrested. Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials say 100 people have been killed on the West Bank since the beginning of the January operation of Israel to this day.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army destroyed weapons and infrastructure “broadly” and said he had instructed the military to stay in refugee camps for a year and prevent residents there.

The Israeli military said the BBC that the militias “use civilian population as human shields and deepen them by planting explosive devices and hiding their weapons.”

On May 1, Israel presented a new map of 106 buildings to Palestinian officials on the west bank, and said that in the next 24 hours it would be demolished in Tulcarem and Nursa by Shams. It states that residents can apply for a short window to return home to get the necessary things.

The help agencies say the Israeli company has caused the largest forced relocation of the Palestinians on the West Bank for decades.

“What is happening is unprecedented,” says Roland Friedrich, director of the Western Board of Anva.

“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 that Israel began his military occupation of the Western shore.

By shooting interviews with Mayor Jenin, the BBC witnessed the Israeli forces who detain several Palestinians, including municipal workers who tried to enter the camp to clear the route to the nearest hospital. They were kept three hours before being released.

“There are big problems in terms of providing services to citizens. As everyone knows, Jenin’s infrastructure was completely demolished,” says Mayor Mohammad Jerror.

“Israel’s goal is to try to make Jenn Camp completely unsuitable to live and I tell you that he has become completely unbreakable now.”

Israel’s blockade in the Western Bank refugee camps have made information about what is happening almost impossible, says Roland Friedrich, including the exact degree of wear.

Jumao is one of some displaced Palestinians who were provided by Israeli troops a short visit home to find things. He was able to simply grab his UN identification card and family dog. Then two months later, in March, Israel issued a card from more than 90 buildings he had determined for wear in Jenin. Juma’s residence looked among them.

The Israeli military said the BBC that it was necessary to demolish these buildings to improve the “freedom” for their strength, but did not confirm whether the Jumao’s house was destroyed.

The BBC compares the Israel’s demolition card with Jenin’s satellite images in a week. We were able to confirm that at least 33 buildings on the list, including Jumaa’s, were destroyed by March 27. Satellite images show that many further demolitions have taken place since January, including the construction of new roads of Israeli forces where the buildings were previously stood.

“Why did they demolish my house? I want to know. I want the Israeli army to give me justification. I had no ties with militants. I’m a peaceful man,” Jumao says.

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

Although his house was demolished, Juma remains persistent that he would return home.

“I will not leave the camp. If they don’t let me restore my home, I will install a tent in his place,” he said.

“Is it not enough for my family to be moved in 1948. We should now encounter moving again?”

Additional reporting by Lina Shaihuni and Daniel Palumba.