A Palestinian advocacy group says the Israeli military has demolished at least 11,620 Palestinian-owned residential buildings and structures in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds between the beginning of the Israeli genocidal war against the Gaza Strip in early October 2023 and October 7 this year.
The Palestine Information Center (Moata), in a report published on Sunday, stated that the demolition operations targeted 2,143 homes as well as 9,477 structures and facilities.
The figures come amid ongoing Israeli military assaults that have resulted in extensive devastation throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly affecting refugee settlements located in the northern flank of the West Bank.
According to a report released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on September 4, Israeli military forces forcibly relocated inhabitants from the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps throughout January and February 2025, with restrictions on their repatriation in effect up to the present day.
The UN report noted that hundreds of residential structures were demolished, and substantial harm was caused to transportation networks and essential service infrastructure.
The report emphasized that the large-scale and systematic displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians from these refugee camps “raises serious concerns of the crime against humanity of forcible transfer.”
It also highlights the extent to which ramifications of demolitions extend beyond the loss of buildings, simultaneously preventing residents from returning to their communities and destabilizing their future prospects.
“The use of airstrikes, armored bulldozers and controlled detonations, to render entire camps uninhabitable, to force the displacement of their residents and to prevent their return, in the absence of imperative military necessity, are not permissible under international law, appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing,” the UN Human Rights Office underscored.
Palestinian homes are demolished to make way for illegal Israeli settlements. At least 750,000 Israeli settlers live across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East al-Quds, in 194 illegal settlements and some 400 unauthorized outposts.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for the evacuation of settlers from the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds.
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