FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Israeli bulldozers have begun demolishing buildings in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army gave several hundred displaced residents several hours to return and gather their belongings before destroying more buildings with explosives or excavators.
Under strict surveillance, the Palestinian residents of Tulkarem went to grab whatever they could. Suddenly, shots were heard and a powerful explosion shook the area: a house collapsed.
It is recalled that the Israeli authorities emphasized that this was an "intensive operation against centers of terrorism" in the northern West Bank. The operations were focused on the refugee camps of Nur Shams, Tulkarem and Jenin, strongholds of Palestinian armed organizations.
"We left and never came back"
Born in the Tulkarem camp, to parents who came from the area where Netanya is now located in Israel, 62-year-old Abdelrahman Azaz believed that the Israeli army's operations would last about a week, as in the past.
"We would leave the camp when there was a report of a raid and after two or three days we would return. This time we left and never came back," he explained.
Katz's Order
As early as January 23, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the evacuation of residents from the three camps and asked the army to prepare to remain there "for the next year and not allow their residents to return."
Since then, Israeli bulldozers have demolished hundreds of apartment buildings and houses, opening wide roads leading to densely populated camps.
Over 400,000 people were displaced
According to the UN, these operations have displaced at least 400,000 people in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967.
Israel's Supreme Court on Thursday suspended a large-scale demolition order in the Tulkarem refugee camp, giving Israel two months to respond to an appeal by a non-governmental organization, after the military announced plans to demolish 104 more buildings.
But the destruction has radically changed the camp, creating three main roads within it. Mountains of gravel, rocks and broken furniture have piled up along these roads, allowing Israeli forces to move more easily.
Beyond the military aspect, many residents also see a political objective: the elimination of refugee camps.
"The goal is clear"
As they complain, this would be tantamount to calling into question their status as refugees and their claim to the "right of return" to the areas that their ancestors were forced to abandon in 1948 when the state of Israel was established.
Israeli authorities, and especially the current government, some of whose far-right ministers call for the annexation of the West Bank, strongly oppose this claim, believing that it threatens Israel's survival as a Jewish state, as it would disrupt the country's demographic balance.
"The goal is clear: to erase the national dimension of the camp, to eliminate the refugee issue and the right of return," says Suleiman al-Zuhairi, who lives in the Nour Shams camp.
"We lost everything"
Last week, his brother's house was flattened, a "painful scene," he says. "A house is not just walls. It's memories, dreams, things that matter to us that we couldn't save." According to him, each building housed an average of six families on three levels. Due to the lack of space, residents built floor after floor, generation after generation.
On Wednesday, 66-year-old Omar Oufi managed to enter the Tulkarem camp twice to retrieve some of his personal belongings and now says he fears his home will be destroyed. He says his children and grandchildren have been forced to disperse to stay with relatives.
"We lost everything," he emphasizes, accusing the Israeli army of wanting to "wipe out the camp, destroy as many buildings as possible and leave only roads." / Adapted from Pamphlet by CNN/
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