Alwaght- Israeli regime has launched a new round of attacks on the West Bank in recent days.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz recently announced that the army has "evacuated" three Palestinian refugee camps in the northern occupied West Bank, and as a result of these actions, 40,000 Palestinians have been removed from the now uninhabited refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams.
The occupation army also reported expansion of its operations in the West Bank and deployment of a tank unit in Jenin, the first time since end of the second intifada in 2005.
In this connection, the UN in its latest report said that these military operations have killed 51 and displaced over 40,000 Palestinians.
The West Bank is 55,000 square kilometers and is home to about 2.7 million people.
Palestinian groups' reactions
The new round of Israeli aggression has been met with widespread Palestinian reaction and opposition.
In a statement, the member of Hamas leadership Mahmoud Mardawi described the expansion of aggression and the deployment of tanks in the West Bank streets as "barbaric acts."
He described the fresh escalation as a psychological warfare and a desperate attempt by the regime to weaken popular resistance.
“The occupation will face a disgraceful defeat in achieving its goals in the West Bank," he added.
In the same vein, the Islamic Jihad Movement also announced in a statement: “The decision of the occupying forces to use tanks against the people in the West Bank, and the decision to evacuate three Palestinian camps, is a new measure aimed at uprooting our people from their land and implementing the plan to occupy the West Bank for forced displacement.”
The new round of Israeli army raids on West Bank camps comes two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli forces in the Tulkarem refugee camp during a visit to the West Bank and ordered an escalation of military operations.
At least 900 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in attacks by the Israeli army or settlers since the start of the Gaza war in October 7, 2023, according to an AFP tally by the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. Official Israeli figures also show that Palestinian attacks on Israelis have killed at least 32 people in the West Bank during the same period.
West Bank refugee camps
The attacks are coming as one-fourth of the refugees are living in 19 official camps in the West Bank, which is a big population.
Here we introduce each of these 19 camps. The most noteworthy thing about these camps is that most of them are located on land that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) leased from the Jordanian government.
In 1949, the Red Cross established the Al-Amari Camp within the boundaries of the Al-Bireh municipality, where it provided tents for refugees who had come from the cities of Lod, Jaffa and Ramallah, in addition to those who had taken refuge from the villages of Beit Dujan, Deir Tarif, Abu Shush, Nena, Sidon Janza and Ba'tha.
The Jalazon camp was established in 1949 on a land of 0.253 square kilometers, 7 km north of Ramallah. The residents of this camp come from 36 villages in the Lod and Ramallah areas.
The Dehisha camp was established in 1949 on a land area of 0.33 square kilometers within the boundaries of the Bethlehem municipality. The residents of this camp come from 45 villages located in the western Al-Quds (Jerusalem) area and the western Hebron area.
Al-Oroub camp was established in 1949, 15 km south of Bethlehem, on an area of 0.24 square kilometers. The camp's residents come from 33 villages in Ramallah, Hebron and Gaza.
Al-Fara'a camp was established in 1949, on an area of 0.26 square kilometers, on the slopes of the Jordan Valley near Ain Al-Fara'a. The camp is located 17 km northeast of Nablus. The camp's residents come from 30 villages in the areas northeast of Jaffa.
Al-Fwar camp, the southernmost camp, was established in 1949, on an area of 0.27 square kilometers, 10 km south of Hebron. Its residents come from 18 villages in the areas of Gaza, Hebron and Beersheba.
Balata camp was established in 1950 and quickly became the largest camp in the West Bank by population, with over 23,000 registered refugees. The camp covers an area of 0.25 square kilometers and is located within the Nablus municipality. The camp’s residents come from 60 villages in the Lod, Jaffa and Ramallah areas. Many of the residents are of Bedouin origin.
Beit Jibreen camp was established in 1950 in the heart of Bethlehem. It is the smallest refugee camp in the West Bank, covering an area of only 0.027 square kilometers. The camp’s main residents come from the destroyed village of Beit Jibreen in the western hills of Hebron.
Jenin camp is located within the Jenin municipality and is the northernmost camp in the West Bank. The history of this camp has been one of great suffering. Jenin camp was established in 1953 after the destruction of the main camp in the area in a snowstorm, and was also severely affected by the second intifada.
Deir Ammar camp is located 20 kilometers northwest of Ramallah, near the village of Deir Ammar. Access to the Israeli and local labor markets has brought relative economic stability to the camp.
Camp No. 1 camp was established in 1950 on a 0.05 square kilometer land along the main road from Nablus to Jenin and is located within the boundaries of the Nablus municipality. The camp's residents are originally from the cities of Lod, Jaffa and Haifa. Some residents also have Bedouin roots.
Tulkarem refugee camp was established in 1950 on a 0.18 square kilometer land within the boundaries of the Tulkarem municipality on the western edge of the West Bank. It is the second largest refugee camp in the West Bank.
Shu'fat refugee camp was established in 1965, more than a decade after the establishment of other official camps in the West Bank, on a 0.2 square kilometer land, north of Al-Quds. This camp was established after the closure of the Maskar camp in the Old City of Al-Quds due to poor health conditions.
The Aida refugee camp was established in 1950 between the cities of Bethlehem and Beit Jala, on a plot of land that UNRWA had leased from the Jordanian government.
The Askar camp was established in 1950 on an area of 0.12 square kilometers within the borders of the Nablus municipality. The camp's residents come from 36 villages in the Lod, Haifa and Jaffa districts. Like other West Bank camps, it is built on a plot of land that UNRWA had leased from the Jordanian government.
The Aqaba Jabr camp was established in 1948, 3 km southwest of Jericho. Before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the number of registered refugees was 30,000, making it the largest camp in the West Bank. The main population of the camp came from the Gaza and Hebron areas, as well as from approximately 300 villages north of Haifa.
The Ain al-Sultan camp was established in 1948 on a 0.87 square kilometer area of land at the foot of Jabal Qarnal and 1 km from the city of Jericho. The origin of the camp's residents came from all over historic Palestine.
The Qalandiya refugee camp was established in 1949 on a 0.35 square kilometers area of land, 11 km north of Al-Quds. The main road between Jerusalem and Ramallah passes through the camp. The origin of the refugees in this camp goes back to 52 villages belonging to the areas of Lod, Ramallah, Haifa, Al-Quds and Hebron.
The Nur Shams refugee camp is located in the northwestern West Bank, about 3 kilometers east of the center of Tulkarem. The first refugees in this camp took refuge in the Jenin area until a snowstorm destroyed their tents and forced them to move to the Tulkarm area. From that event, the Nur Shams general camp was established.
Aims and consequences of attacks on camps
Political affairs expert Hassan Hanizadeh in a interview with Alwaght commented on the reasons behind the Israeli attacks on the West Bank. He said: "The recent attacks by the Israeli army on areas in the West Bank are a violation of the Oslo Accords, given that the agreement explicitly emphasizes that the West Bank should be administered under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority and that the Israeli regime should not interfere in the internal affairs of the region, except for some Jewish settlements. However, after the destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, the Israeli regime is now focusing on the West Bank, and, thanks to Donald Trump's plan to expel the people of Gaza, Tel Aviv is seriously implementing it."
Commenting on the details of the Israeli plan, Hanizadeh maintained: "Given the close relationship between the people of the West Bank and the Jordanian government, the Zionist regime is trying to first transfer some of the residents of the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and forcibly relocate some of the people of the West Bank to Jordan."
"This forced migration will bring many problems to the countries of Egypt and Jordan. First, there is no economic capacity at all in these countries. Second, security is another issue that will become a major challenge," he said of the consequences of the Israeli plan.
At the end, Hanizadeh described the verbal opposition of Arab countries to Trump's plan for relocation of Gazans as "insufficient", saying that it is a dangerous plan pursued by the US and the Israeli regime. He further said that the world community, especially the Muslim countries and the Arab League should be more vigilant and take necessary measures and mechanisms to check another Israeli offensive on the West Bank aimed at changing the social structure there.
