A United Nations Human Rights report has found that Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" in the occupied West Bank, which resulted in the displacement of entire Palestinian populations from three refugee camps, "appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing."

The operation, conducted in January and February 2025, led to the deaths of 102 Palestinians and displaced more than 33,000 residents from the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem refugee camps, according to the report titled "Destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in northern West Bank."

Displaced Palestinians reported being told by Israeli officers that the refugee camps would cease to exist and that they should "all go to Jordan." The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that such large-scale, long-term, and systematic displacement could constitute the crime against humanity of forcible transfer.

The report emphasized that the use of air strikes, armored bulldozers, and controlled demolitions to make areas uninhabitable, preventing residents from returning without imperative military necessity, violates international law. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk suggested the operation's conduct indicated an aim to expel Palestinians and make way for illegal Israeli settlements.

The affected camps are among 19 established in the West Bank to house Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 Nakba. These camps have been administered by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

As of July, UNRWA reported that approximately 33,362 displaced Palestinian refugees from these camps remained forcibly displaced. The military operation also resulted in the deaths of at least 21 children.

The report highlighted specific instances, including a 10-year-old boy shot in Tulkarem and a two-year-old girl killed in Jenin. The OHCHR reiterated that Israel "must end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as rapidly as possible" and "halt any efforts to forcibly displace more Palestinians."

This report adds to growing international scrutiny of Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories and underscores the severe humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian population.