The High Court of Justice rejected a petition by Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel to block demolitions in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, Adalah announced on Wednesday.
The demolitions are set for around 87 buildings, which contain about 300 residential units. These housed Palestinian families “who have already been displaced and are currently sheltering in nearby towns,” Adalah said.
The orders were issued on June 9 and took effect on June 12, the day Adalah filed the petition.
The legal aid group argued that the order is in violation of international humanitarian law and doesn’t allow for the potential victims to object to it. Adalah further argued that the demolitions are an act of skewed proportions in their violation of property rights and that the decision isn’t reasonable.
The military explained, wrote Justice Yael Wilner, that the decision was made based on “clear and pressing military considerations” that the Jenin refugee camp became, over the last few years, a “significant hotspot of terrorist activity” and that the structural layout of the place and its cramped nature make it difficult for troops to operate effectively in it.
“This makes it even harder for the troops to stem terrorist operations from within the camp and poses a threat to their lives,” explained the IDF.
The order was given to allow them to operate more freely, as motives for terrorist activity may have heightened or changed in line with Israel and Iran’s missile exchanges.
Adalah argued that this reasoning “erases the distinction between civilians and combatants and dangerously transforms Palestinian refugee camps into zones of unrestricted military destruction.”
Wilner wrote that the circumstances are delicate and that she doesn’t see a strong enough reason to intervene in the security calculation.
Iron Wall operation in the West Bank
Operation Iron Wall began in January and targeted refugee camps and small towns in the northern West Bank, emptying them. Troops have routinely found and confiscated weapons and cash. Per the UN Relief and Works Agency, around 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced by the operation.
In March, 95 buildings were ordered for demolition in the Jenin refugee camp. Petitions against them at the time were rejected by the court as well.
“The court’s refusal to intervene enables a policy of collective punishment and forced displacement on a massive scale, carried out with full impunity,” argued Adalah.