AhlulBayt News Agency: Israeli occupation forces (IOF) reportedly mistreated residents of the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank as they tried to retrieve belongings from homes slated for demolition.
This occurred under Israel’s declared plan to demolish 104 structures inside the camp on what it claims are “military grounds.”
Local sources reported that IOF troops obstructed access by checking IDs, detaining individuals, and conducting field interrogations and searches, all in a tense and hostile atmosphere.
During the limited hours given for evacuation, families—joined by Palestinian Red Crescent Society volunteers—hurried to salvage belongings. Meanwhile, IOF units surrounded the camp, deployed heavily at entrances and alleyways, converted houses into military posts, and fired live bullets and stun grenades at fleeing residents.
On Sunday night, the Israeli army announced that a second group of families, who had not previously evacuated, would be permitted to re-enter the camp from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM on Monday to collect their belongings.
This permission applied to only 54 of the homes marked for demolition. Authorities designated three access points: Maqata’a neighborhood entrance, Hanoun Square entrance, and the Zanoubia Girls School entrance leading to UNRWA schools.
These actions are part of a broader Israeli campaign of pressure against camp residents, who have endured 161 days of military aggression, expulsion threats, and home demolitions. A complete blockade surrounds the camp, and dozens of structures have been recently leveled.
Simultaneously, the Nur Shams camp nearby has been under siege for 148 consecutive days, with military vehicles and personnel entrenched at entrances. Demolitions there have severely damaged roads and cut off entire neighborhoods.
Tulkarem city also witnessed a heavy IOF presence on Monday. Armored vehicles blocked traffic on Nablus Street, the central market, and major public squares, damaging parked cars and harassing passersby.
Troops raided the suburbs of Shuweika, Irtah, and Dhanaba, setting up mobile checkpoints and detaining young men after identity checks.
Nablus Street, linking the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps, remains a militarized corridor. IOF forces have occupied multiple residential buildings in the northern and eastern quarters, many under their control for more than four months, with bulldozers deployed throughout the zone.
The street suffers heavy structural damage due to military-installed earth mounds and ongoing checkpoint operations, worsening civilians’ daily hardships.
So far, 14 Palestinians—including a child and two women, one of them eight months pregnant—have been killed during this escalation. Dozens have been wounded or arrested, while extensive destruction has impacted homes, infrastructure, shops, and vehicles.
The campaign has forcibly displaced over 5,000 families—equivalent to more than 25,000 people—from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps. Over 600 homes have been demolished and 2,573 partially damaged. Military earth barriers continue to seal off both camps, turning them into lifeless ghost towns.
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