Those words<\/a> indicate more expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and so more potential ethnic cleansing and war crimes.<\/p>\n The Israeli army expelled the residents of Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and Jenin refugee camps in January and February 2025 during Operation Iron Wall, a brutal, and sometimes lethal, operation by the military that resulted in the largest mass displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967. Katz said<\/a> the displacement would last one year. But twenty months later, according to the United Nations, more than 33,000 Palestinian refugees remain displaced from the homes in the refugee camps they were living in two years ago.<\/p>\n The Israeli military continues to forbid<\/a> all access to the camps, denying these refugees the right to return to their homes. Scattered across<\/a> the West Bank, the refugees are forced to rent accommodations, stay with relatives, or seek temporary housing from charitable organizations. Not only have the camps been emptied but the Israeli military has also systematically demolished residential homes and buildings to make way for a new network of widened roads and access ways, purportedly for \u201cmilitary necessity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Human Rights Watch found<\/a> in November 2025 that these acts of forced displacement amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n Through our investigation of Operation Iron Wall, Human Rights Watch identified senior officials who should be investigated and appropriately prosecuted for these war crimes and crimes against humanity, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. Despite the wealth of evidence amassed, Israeli authorities have neither investigated their military\u2019s abusive conduct nor have concerned foreign governments imposed any consequences for the atrocities committed.<\/p>\n This lack of accountability sends the deeply concerning message that grave crimes can be perpetrated with impunity. Governments should urgently act to prevent the potential forced displacement of more Palestinian refugees, including by imposing targeted sanctions<\/a> on those implicated in ongoing grave abuses, suspending<\/a> arms transfers<\/a> to Israel, banning trade with illegal settlements<\/a>, considering suspending preferential trade agreements<\/a> with Israel, and supporting<\/a> the International Criminal Court and its ongoing investigations, including by executing its arrest warrants.<\/p>\n Katz\u2019s announcement shows that when serious international crimes go unpunished, they can happen again.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Jenin_RC_-_panoramio_2.jpg\")
View from the Jenin refugee camp in 2011. Mujaddara. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license<\/a>. Via Wikimedia Commons <\/a>. <\/p>\n