After Israel's attack on West Bank camps, Palestinians dream of returning home

Palestinians have been displaced from their homes in Tulkarm refugee camp and long to return home.

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank - Fawad Abu Salam sips his morning coffee outside his rented house in the Tinnabeh suburb every day and stares at the details of the Tulkarm refugee camp in front of him. The camp in the West Bank, which he can see in the distance, once housed a two-story building containing four apartments, each measuring 300 square meters (3,229 square feet), where he and his extended family lived.

After he was displaced from the camp, he, his wife, four children and his mother were confined to a small rented apartment of no more than 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) in Tin Nabeh. His house in Tulkarm was partially destroyed when he left the camp.

List of 3 items List 1 of 3 Israel's West Bank destruction campaign goes to the food basket of the region

List 2 of 3 Hamas criticized the Peace Council for refusing to cooperate with UNRWA in Gaza.

List 3 of 3 "My hands are empty": displaced Palestinians struggle to survive

The End of the List Everything changed for Fouad and his family on January 21, 2025, when Israel launched a military offensive against the occupied West Bank known as the "Iron Wall", initially targeting the Jenin refugee camp. A week later, the operation was expanded to Tulkarm and Noor Shams camps in Tulkarm.

The United Nations has announced that Israeli forces forcibly displaced the entire population of these three camps during January and February 2025 and continue to prevent their return.

UNRWA data cited in a report entitled "Destruction of Palestinian Refugees" in camps in the northern West Bank, stated that 33,362 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from these three camps. By October 2025, 52% of structures in Jenin camp, 48% in Noor Shams camp, and 36% in Tulkarm camp had been destroyed or damaged.

The Israeli operation has affected hundreds of homes, roads and infrastructure, including water and electricity networks, while humanitarian aid to the camps has been cut off.

According to this report, Israeli forces killed 102 Palestinians, including 21 children. This figure represents 46 percent of the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank during this period.

On Sunday, Israel's Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a timetable for the return of refugees to the three camps and set a deadline of November 23.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected the ruling, warning that the return of residents could allow the rebuilding of what he called "terrorist infrastructure." He asked the government not to implement this decision.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz opposed the court's intervention, stressing that the military's continued presence in the camps is a security decision and announcing his intention to maintain a military presence there.

Fouad, 42, a greenhouse installer, found himself forced to flee with other camp residents and more than 40 family members. But he and his neighbors carried the hope of returning home.

Enduring the harsh living conditions, they moved between relatives' houses before finally settling in the Tinnabe suburb of Tulkarm.

The neighborhood that overlooks the camp has "revived his spirit" because he can see his home even if it's far away. Although he is unable to reach the building, he can stare at it and imagine the time when he can return.

"If there was a decision to allow us to go back, I would go back immediately without a moment's hesitation," he said.

But his house is no longer the same. A part of it was demolished and set on fire by Israeli soldiers, and more than 80% of the residential block became uninhabitable. Fawad plans to use the rubble to rebuild his house.

"I will never waver in my determination to return, even if it means camping on the ruins and living there," he said.

Mohammad Aravi, 18, from the Jenin refugee camp, also saw his house razed to the ground and replaced by a wide road.

He told Al Jazeera that his family of 40, who lived in a five-story building in al-Damaj neighborhood, fled the camp when the Israeli military operation began and sought shelter in houses belonging to other relatives.

My mother, father, five sisters and I took refuge in my brother's unfinished apartment. "We endured harsh conditions, bitter cold and scorching heat, until it was somewhat habitable before we gradually finished the construction."

Return is the only thing that matters to them, and they refuse to live anywhere but a camp, even if it lacks basic amenities.

Returning displaced people to their homes is not just a matter of clearing roads for residents. Returning means living in a camp with damaged infrastructure and hundreds of destroyed homes, all amid a lack of essentials.

Nihad Showish, a member of the Noor Shams camp's public services committee, told Al Jazeera that the scale of the destruction has made it difficult for residents to return, despite their desire to return to their homes.

He said that approximately 400 houses, most of which were three to four stories high, were destroyed, while about 100 houses were burned during the presence of the Israeli army in the camp.

Even those that survive are not necessarily habitable. They sustained severe damage that affected doors, windows and internal installations. The collapse of some buildings has also damaged nearby houses.

Approximately 10,900 residents of the camp are displaced, including families staying in private homes and others at a school on the outskirts of Tinabe.

Faisal Salameh, an official of the Tulkarm camp's popular committee, told Al Jazeera that more than 2,000 housing units were completely destroyed, while almost 90 percent of the camp's houses were partially damaged, rendering them uninhabitable.

Israel has turned the camp into an environment, Kehavi noted: considering the extensive destruction and the ban on reconstruction in certain areas that have been turned into roads, it keeps the residents away.

Despite these conditions, Salameh said the displaced residents are eager to return to the camp as soon as the Israeli government decides to allow them.

The camp was home to approximately 15,000 people. Most of the displaced are currently living in rented houses or with relatives, while others seek shelter in schools, mosques, or makeshift tin sheds.

While the Israeli Supreme Court's ruling opens the door to debate on the return of refugees to camps in the northern West Bank, its rejection by Israeli government ministers raises questions about its implementation. Until then, the lives of displaced families remain in an aura of uncertainty.

Mohamed Halaseh, an expert on Israeli affairs, told Al Jazeera that Israel's right wing is not only trying to change the structure of the judicial system, but also to undermine its legitimacy and put pressure on judges.

He explained: The effect of political positions is evident in ignoring the rulings of the Supreme Court. He mentions the meeting with the Palestinian prisoners, in which the government did not follow the court's decisions, as one of its examples.

"Continuous disregard for court rulings undermines the judiciary's ability to compel the government to act when judicial decisions conflict with political leadership," he said.

Several cases, he said, make it unlikely that court rulings on the camps will be enforced. This is particularly distressing for residents who face strong Israeli political opposition to the return of Palestinians to the three camps.

He said: "Declared political positions set limits for the compliance of executive institutions with judicial rulings."