Israel’s systematic home demolitions in the West Bank aim to change the demography of the occupied territory, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
A ministry statement said scores of homes were razed by the Israeli army in the northern West Bank, especially in the Jenin refugee camp where Israeli authorities threatened to demolish 60 houses there.
“The widespread destruction of the refugee camps aim to change their geography, and permanently displace their residents,” it added.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a military base in the occupied West Bank.
The ministry called Netanyahu’s visit “provocative” and aimed “to consolidate the occupation and commit further crimes of ethnic cleansing, genocide, annexation, and displacement.”
It urged the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities and take practical measures to enforce international legitimacy resolutions.
A municipal spokesman said early Thursday that the Israeli army prevented displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in Jenin.
The Israeli army has continued a deadly military offensive in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, killing over 70 Palestinians and displacing thousands.
The assault came as the army renewed deadly airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday, killing at least 700 people, injuring hundreds and shattering a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian group Hamas that took hold in January.
Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 937 Palestinians have been killed and over 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza onslaught on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.