JERUSALEM — Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank watched as Israeli military bulldozers pulled down their homes Wednesday as part of a nearly year-long incursion into the territory's northern refugee camps.

Israel has approved the construction of 126 illegal settler housing units in Nur Shams in the northern occupied West Bank, which was evacuated in 2005 under Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan.

Israeli military bulldozers and cranes tore through residential blocks in the Nur Shams refugee camp on Wednesday, flattening homes that housed about 100 families. Thick clouds of dust rose over the camp as residents watched from a distance, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

“Being torn away from our homes, our neighbourhoods and our memories is deeply painful,” said Mutaz Mahr, whose building was among those destroyed.

“The occupation tries by every means to wear us down and pressure us,” he told AFP, referring to Israel.

“Our home is dear to us, the memories are dear to us, the family, the neighbours, and the good people are dear to us,” he said as bulldozers advanced. “The first time, our grandparents were displaced, and this is the second time.”

Mahr said he and about 25 relatives were sheltering in a 100-square-metre (120-square-yard) apartment after being driven out of the camp.

The Israeli military claimed the demolitions formed part of an operation against Palestinian resistance groups, a claim that could not be independently verified. Palestinian residents and rights groups say the destruction amounts to collective punishment and forced displacement under occupation.

Nihaya al-Jendi, a member of Nur Shams’s popular committee, said the scale of displacement had already reached crisis levels before the latest raid.

“Today, more than 1,500 families from the camp are still unable to return,” Jendi told AFP. “This is a major catastrophe – a real humanitarian disaster for Palestinian refugees – unfolding before the eyes of the world.”

The scene in Nur Shams has been repeated often across the northern West Bank in the roughly 11 months since Israeli troops launched operation "Iron Wall" there in early 2025.

During that time, the military has demolished or heavily damaged at least 850 structures across the refugee camps of Nur Shams, Jenin and Tulkarem, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch.

Troops have also forced out the camps' populations, leading to the largest displacement in the West Bank since Israel captured the territory in 1967. Tens of thousands of residents are living with relatives, cramming into rental apartments or living in public buildings.

Israel's Channel 7 reported that the High Planning Council, operating under Israel’s Civil Administration, greenlit a detailed plan that would allow illegal settlers to return to Sa-Nur, which was evacuated in 2005.

The outpost was dismantled under then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan, which removed settlements from Gaza and four northern West Bank sites. That policy was reversed in March 2024 when Israel’s parliament repealed the disengagement law through legislation known as the “Cancellation of the Disengagement Law”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned an Israeli move to cut electricity or water to facilities owned by UNRWA, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The measure would “further impede” the agency’s ability to function, the spokesperson added. “The Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations remains applicable to UNRWA, its property and assets,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, stressing that UNRWA is an “integral” part of the UN system.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini denounced the decision as part of a “systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and thereby obstruct” its work supporting Palestinian refugees. — Agencies