TULKAREM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Israeli occupation forces (IOF) prevented residents of the Nur Shams refugee camp from holding a protest on Monday morning against a decision to demolish 25 residential buildings inside the camp, east of the city of Tulkarem in the West Bank.
A day earlier, Israeli occupation authorities issued a military order mandating the demolition of 25 residential buildings in Nur Shams camp, marking a new escalation against the area as part of the ongoing assault on Tulkarem and its two refugee camps.
The decision comes as the Israeli offensive on Tulkarem enters its 322nd consecutive day, and its 309th day against Nur Shams camp. The IOF soldiers have continued large-scale demolition, land leveling, and incursions, alongside a sharp rise in settler attacks targeting Palestinian residents and their property.
Over recent weeks, Tulkarem governorate and its camps have witnessed a dangerous escalation by IOF and settler militias, including repeated raids, arrests, and widespread attacks on Palestinian homes and infrastructure.
IOF has deployed significant military reinforcements and carried out extensive bulldozing and roadworks inside the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps.
Palestinian officials say these measures are part of a policy aimed at imposing new facts on the ground, dismantling the refugee camps, and preventing residents from rebuilding demolished homes. To date, these operations have resulted in the complete destruction of approximately 1,440 homes.
In Nur Shams camp, the assault has continued for a fifteenth consecutive week, marked by explosions and heavy gunfire, as Israeli forces, accompanied by military bulldozers, carried out incursions that forced families, particularly in the al-Maslakh neighborhood, to evacuate their homes. Displaced children are living in dire humanitarian conditions, having been deprived of their homes and schools for nearly ten months.
The ongoing assault has led to the forced displacement of more than 5,000 families from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, affecting over 25,000 Palestinians. In addition to the 1,440 homes completely destroyed, some 2,573 houses have suffered partial damage. Access points to both camps remain sealed with earth mounds, effectively turning them into areas largely devoid of normal life.
So far, the assault has resulted in the martyrdom of 14 Palestinians, including a child and two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant, along with dozens of injuries and arrests. Extensive destruction has also hit infrastructure, homes, shops, and vehicles, amid growing public anger, clashes, and demonstrations rejecting Israel’s policies and ongoing violations against the governorate.
