By Sama Marwan,
The Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Department of Refugee Affairs has warned of escalating attacks on refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem. These attacks coincide with Israel’s plan to undermine the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which holds a UN mandate to assist Palestinian refugees under Resolution 302.
In a statement released on Friday, the department emphasized that refugee camps in the northern West Bank are facing severe and dangerous conditions. The destruction and forced displacement witnessed in Gaza are now being replicated in West Bank camps.
The statement pointed to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s remarks about a plan to turn cities, villages, and camps in the West Bank into a situation similar to that of Jabalia in northern Gaza.
Ahmed Abu Holi, member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, revealed that destruction levels in West Bank camps have reached unprecedented heights. Since October 7, 2023, there have been 935 military incursions, resulting in the killing of more than 400 Palestinians—most of them children—the injury of over 1,250 others, the arrest of 2,368 people, and the destruction of more than 800 housing units.
Abu Holi warned of the deteriorating living, social, and health conditions in northern West Bank camps, particularly in Tulkarm, Nur Shams, Jenin, and Al-Far’a, which are facing systematic forced displacement campaigns. He noted that Israeli forces have forcibly evicted refugees from their homes, leading to the displacement of more than 40,000 people who have sought shelter in nearby towns, villages, or temporary housing centers.
The ongoing incursions have also caused extensive damage to camp infrastructure, including water, sewage, electricity, and communication networks, as well as the destruction of public institutions, particularly the offices of popular committees within the camps. Abu Holi stressed that these attacks are part of an Israeli effort to erase historical evidence of the 1948 Nakba.
He praised the strong internal solidarity that has supported the displaced and commended UNRWA’s role in providing material, humanitarian, psychological, and social assistance to Palestinian refugees.
Additionally, Abu Holi noted that the Palestinian government, under directives from President Mahmoud Abbas, has established an emergency ministerial committee and a technical committee to support the camps. These committees coordinate with ministries such as Local Government, Public Works, Transportation, Social Development, National Economy, the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, Civil Defense, and the Department of Refugee Affairs. The government is also working directly with UNRWA, regional governors, the private sector, and civil society organizations to provide assistance.
