Palestine warned on Saturday of Israel’s ongoing “ethnic cleansing” in the northern occupied West Bank and called for a “firm” international response to force Israel to stop its crimes in refugee camps.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry issued a statement warning “against the continued Israeli occupation forces committing the crime of ethnic cleansing and enforcing forced deportation and displacement of our people from the camps in the northern West Bank, emptying them of their residents, as is the case in the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Faraa camps, in a blatant violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and the Geneva Conventions.”
The Israeli government makes use of calls to expel our people from the Gaza Strip to deepen and expand their displacement from West Bank camps, altering their characteristics and reality, it added.
It further stated that the West Bank “witnesses the ongoing Nakba as a precursor to the imposition of further occupation control and its consolidation in preparation for annexing it, including East Jerusalem, undermining any opportunity to establish a Palestinian state on the ground, something that is proudly declared by members of the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies from the far-right.”
The Israeli military offensive, which began on Jan. 21 in the northern occupied West Bank, targeted Jenin city, its refugee camp, and surrounding towns, killing 25 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Alongside the ongoing operation in Jenin camp, the Israeli army has raided several neighboring towns, including Qabatiya and Burqin.
The Israeli escalation follows a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza on Jan. 19, after more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment, which has killed nearly 48,200 Palestinians and devastated the enclave.
Since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 905 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.