AhlulBayt News Agency: Israeli occupation forces began demolishing around 400 residential units in Tulkarem refugee camp on Monday, extending their military operations on the camp and city into the 162nd consecutive day.
Local sources confirmed that Israeli bulldozers started tearing down buildings in the Al-Marbou’a neighborhood, targeting 104 buildings containing hundreds of homes. This comes after prior demolitions across several parts of the camp.
The IOF’s operation follows its Sunday announcement to carry out mass demolitions, disregarding an earlier Israeli Supreme Court decision that had temporarily suspended the orders.
Adalah Legal Center stated that the move came after a modified ruling on July 3, which authorized demolitions only under "urgent military necessity and clear security needs."
Previously, the court had frozen demolitions on July 2 in response to a petition by Adalah representing 11 camp residents.
In a new memo submitted Monday, Adalah argued that the government’s plan directly violates the July 3 ruling, which permits demolition strictly under emergency conditions.
Suhad Bishara, head of Adalah’s Legal Unit, pointed out that even Israel’s military admitted the camp is nearly empty—undermining the claim of “urgent security needs.”
On July 4, the military exempted four buildings from demolition after “reconsidering” their status—an act that Adalah says highlights the weak legal foundation of the orders.
Adalah also warned that proceeding without giving residents a fair legal process would impose irreversible harm and deny them their rights to defense and appeal.
The legal group requested the court to consider expert input from Bimkom, a planning rights organization, as part of their legal brief, especially under the tight 72-hour timeline imposed by military orders dated June 30.
On Sunday, the army allowed limited access for displaced families to re-enter the camp and recover belongings from 54 homes scheduled for demolition. The process occurred under heavy restrictions, including live fire, detentions, and evacuation delays.
The demolition campaign forms part of a broader strategy of collective punishment. Residents continue to face forced displacement, constant military siege, and destruction of property in recent days, leaving the community in trauma.
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