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Scene. Published by IMEMC News
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by IMEMC News
July 12, 2025

Israeli occupation forces continued, Saturday, to demolish residential buildings in the Tulkarem refugee camp, in Tulkarem in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank, as the military offensive on the camp and the city entered its 167th consecutive day.

Israeli bulldozers resumed demolitions early in the morning in the al-Foul and al-Murabba’a neighborhoods, as part of a new plan to raze 104 buildings containing approximately 400 housing units.

These operations follow earlier demolitions carried out in various sections of the camp in recent days.

Despite a prior ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court to freeze demolition orders, Israeli authorities announced last Sunday their intent to proceed with large-scale demolitions, openly defying the court’s decision.

Meanwhile, the Nur Shams refugee camp, also in the Tulkarem area, is witnessing an escalation in military aggression for the 154th consecutive day, marked by a tight siege and deliberate arson attacks.

Israeli soldiers have set fire to homes, particularly in the Jabal al-Nasr neighborhood, while blocking civil defense vehicles from entering the camp to extinguish the flames.

Simultaneously, Israeli infantry units stormed the al-Mahjar neighborhood, conducting extensive searches and turning residential homes into military outposts after forcibly evicting their occupants. Live ammunition has been used against anyone attempting to approach the camp.

In recent days, Nur Shams has seen widespread demolitions, with 48 buildings already destroyed as part of a broader Israeli plan to raze 106 structures across both Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

The destruction has resulted in the opening of wide roads that have fragmented neighborhoods and disconnected communities.

The offensive has led to the forced displacement of more than 5,000 families, affecting over 25,000 residents, and the complete destruction of more than 600 homes, with 2,573 others partially damaged. Entrances to both camps remain sealed off, rendering them effectively lifeless zones.

In a related development, Israeli forces deployed military vehicles and infantry units throughout Tulkarem city, concentrating along Far’un Street at the southern entrance, where they set up flying military roadblocks, stopped vehicles, searched passengers, and disrupted traffic flow.

On Friday, Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers carried out numerous attacks against Palestinians, their homes, and their lands across several areas of the occupied West Bank.

The colonizers killed two Palestinians, including a Palestinian-American, while many others were wounded, and several properties sustained damage in Sinjil town, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers also abducted a child and a young man in Salfit, in the central West Bank.

Since the beginning of this year, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers have killed 177 Palestinians, including 31 children and 8 women.

60 Palestinians were killed in Jenin, 32 in Nablus, 26 in Tubas, 17 in Tulkarem, 12 in Hebron, 11 in Ramallah, 6 in Bethlehem, 4 in Qalqilia, 3 in Salfit, 5 in Jerusalem and 1 in Jericho.

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