Israel’s assault on Tulkarm: An attack on Palestinian resistance

At the western gate of Tulkarm refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Fatima Dar Saeed and Muhammad Farhana stand in silence, their eyes fixed on the ruins of what was once their home. 

The familiar streets have been reduced to rubble, in the wake of the Israeli military’s recent deadly invasion of multiple camps in the occupied West Bank.

“We had to leave on foot after the camp was invaded by the Israeli army and my heart medicine ran out,” said Saeed, who suffers from a heart condition. 

“There is nothing left in the camp,” she said. “They destroyed everything—no one wants to return.”

The Israeli invasions mark a dangerous escalation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Two days after the initial phase of the Gaza ceasefire commenced, Israel launched “Operation Iron Wall“—destroying several buildings in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and causing its residents to flee. According to UN figures, at least 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced.

The assault has since extended to Tulkarm camp, forcing 85 percent of its almost 13,000 residents to seek refuge in nearby neighbourhoods. Along with most residents, Saeed and her husband believe the ongoing military operation is part of an Israeli strategy to make the camp uninhabitable. By destroying homes and infrastructure, the military is making it impossible for the camp to recover or rebuild.

“We are living through a new Nakba,” Farhana told The New Arab, referring to the 1948 expulsion of thousands of Palestinians from their ancestral land with the creation of Israel, pushing Palestinians into refugee camps, or outside the country. “The Zionist gangs expelled us from our country in 1948, and today the army is returning and repeating the same thing.”

Camps under attack

Though Tulkarm Camp covers just 0.18 square kilometres, it is one of the most densely populated refugee camps in the region. To its east is Nour Shams refugee camp, where attacks, killings, and widespread destruction have also been reported.

Since September 2021, residents of both camps have faced repeated Israeli military operations, often losing their homes and property. But the violence intensified alongside the war on Gaza, and has exacerbated after the ceasefire.

Faisal Salama, head of the Popular Committee of Tulkarm Camp, told TNA that the recent wave of attacks in Tulkarm has killed four Palestinians, destroyed countless homes, wiped out infrastructure, and levelled shops, leaving the camp “lifeless.” He estimates that the losses exceed $10 million.

He explained the severity of the situation: “The Israeli army is altering the camp’s landscape and paving streets to displace residents, reduce the population, and establish a permanent presence in the area.”

As the violence continues, residents are left in a desperate state. “On the street, you can hear the explosions from time to time, as Israeli demolition vehicles, bulldozers, and armoured vehicles work to dismantle people’s homes,” Salama said.

The Israeli army has been conducting raids on homes, turning some into military barracks. Salama described the situation as “very dangerous,” adding that the army had closed the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s headquarters and the Martyr Dr. Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital, severing access to medical services.

Tulkarm’s displaced residents have sought refuge in schools and institutions across the city and neighbouring towns. Though they have received basic supplies, Salama emphasised the need for more support.

Ahmed Al-Ja’im, a displaced resident of Tulkarm camp, shared his distress with TNA, describing the devastation caused by the ongoing military operation: “The Israeli army is controlling everything. Houses have been razed to the ground, and others have been blown up and are on the verge of collapse.”

He, too, believes the military’s actions are part of a broader strategy to expel the camp’s inhabitants and render the area unliveable. “They want to stifle the right of return,” he said. 

“In the camp, there are memories and a life that were built over years of displacement. The army came and changed everything. We don’t know exactly what is happening, but the camp is afflicted, and we are living with an uncertain fate,” Farhana added.

Israel’s broader goal

Israeli attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between 7 October 2023 and 19 January 2025 have killed 905 Palestinians, injured around 7,000, and arrested more than 14,000, as the Israeli military‘s reach continues to stretch beyond Gaza. 

The occupied West Bank military operations by Israel echo the same brutal strategies seen in the Gaza Strip, observers say. Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative Party, warned that Israel’s escalating military operations in the occupied West Bank “are part of a broader strategy targeting not only Gaza and Hamas, but the entire Palestinian people.”

 “These actions are provocations,” Barghouti said in an interview, accusing Israel’s government of pursuing ethnic cleansing through its escalating violence. He also noted that the attacks on refugee camps—symbols of Palestinian resistance and the right of return—are aimed at erasing their existence.

Suleiman Basharat, head of the Yabous Centre for Studies, agreed, stressing the political dimensions of the current military campaign. 

“The refugee camps in the West Bank symbolise Palestinian resistance and the right of return, which are central to the future of a Palestinian state,” Basharat said. 

He explained that Israel’s actions are sending a message to the Palestinian Authority: its role will be limited to administrative duties, while Israel will control security and handle any potential threats of resistance. 

Basharat compared the operation to “Operation Defensive Shield” in 2002, when Israel broke previous military restrictions in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, altering the region’s power dynamics.

For Basharat, the recent attacks are an advanced stage of “Operation Defensive Shield”. “The main objective is to force Palestinians to abandon their principles and resistance efforts, focusing instead on basic survival—securing shelter and providing for their families,” he said.

Despite Israel‘s efforts, many residents, like Al-Ja’im, continue to hold firm to the enduring importance of the camps. “This is a stop until we return to the lands occupied in 1948,” he concluded.

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.