Israel issues demolition orders for 17 homes in refugee camp

The Israeli occupation forces notified Palestinian citizens today of its intention to demolish 17 homes in Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarm, bringing the total number of homes demolished or slated for demolition in the camp recently to 28, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported.

Local official Nihad Al-Shawish said that the occupation regime intends to demolish these homes in Al-Manshiya district on the pretext of opening a new dirt road through the camp for military purposes.

The mass demolition of homes in Nur Shams camp to create new routes is fundamentally altering the camp’s landscape and geography at the cost of dozens of homes that have stood for many years, explained Shawish.

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The Israeli army gave the owners two and a half hours, starting at 11:00 am local time today, to remove their belongings from their homes.

Since it started its operation in Nur Shams camp 25 days ago, the Israeli army has been raiding homes, detaining and displacing local residents, and damaging or destroying public and private property. The army maintains a tight siege on the camp, depriving the families who remained in their homes of food, water, medications and baby formula.

Over 9,000 residents, including elderly and sick people, were forced by the Israeli army to leave their homes in the camp, mainly in Al-Maslakh, Al-Manshiya, Jabel As-Salihin and Al-Nasser districts.

Israel’s large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank is widely believed to be aimed at ethnically cleansing the Palestinian people, especially from refugee camps. The operation started in the Jenin refugee camp on 21 January and has since expanded to Tulkarm City, the refugee camps of Tulkarm and Nur Shams, and Al-Fari’ah refugee camp.

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