‘My hands are empty’: Displaced Palestinians struggle to survive

What Happened

Hakim Mar’i, a Palestinian displaced from Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, described living without electricity, work, or medical care after Israeli forces emptied the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps in early 2025. Mar’i said soldiers beat him when forcing his family from the camp, and that the Israeli military later razed his family’s four-storey home to build a road; his family has moved four times since January 2025 and now faces eviction and mounting debt. According to UNRWA, more than 33,000 Palestinians were forcibly removed from the three camps, making it the largest single episode of forced displacement in the West Bank since Israel’s occupation began in 1967. UN satellite imagery shows 20 percent of all buildings across the three camps destroyed and another 28 percent damaged, while UNRWA West Bank affairs director Roland Friedrich said 85 percent of those displaced have no regular income and more than 80 percent are renting. The Israeli military stated the camps were emptied for “operational security” to root out fighters, and the closed military zone is renewed every two months, with no indication of when or whether residents will be allowed to return.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The emptying of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps marks the largest forced displacement in the West Bank since 1967, according to UNRWA, and could alter the geographic and demographic character of Palestinian refugee camps. UNRWA’s funding crisis and the absence of a return or reconstruction plan raise the prospect of a permanent rupture in the refugee issue, with potential for further instability in the northern West Bank and increased humanitarian need.

Watch For

Monitor the renewal of the closed military zone covering the three camps, due every two months; any Israeli military announcement on return or reconstruction; UNRWA funding decisions and whether it can expand support beyond targeted assistance; and eviction or debt-driven movements of displaced families like the Mar’i family. Also watch for reports on gender-based violence and psychosocial impacts among displaced children.