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🚨Urgent Call for Diplomatic Action: Prevent Irreversible Displacement in Qalandia Refugee Camp

Today, Israeli forces launched a large-scale military operation in Qalandia Refugee Camp. Located between Ramallah and Jerusalem, adjacent to Qalandia Checkpoint, Qalandia is one of the largest refugee camps in the central West Bank, with more than 16,000 registered Palestine refugees. The operation has involved a sustained military presence inside the camp, raids on civilian homes, arrests, and the use of residential buildings as military positions and interrogation sites. Residents report of widespread fear and uncertainty.

These concerns are not speculative. Since January 2025, Israeli military operations in the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams refugee camps have resulted in the prolonged displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees, extensive destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, and the continued denial of residents' return. More than eighteen months later, tens of thousands remain displaced and continue to face a severe humanitarian crisis. Despite sustained legal and diplomatic efforts, including proceedings before the Israeli High Court of Justice, residents have not been permitted to return to their homes. What began as military operations has evolved into a prolonged displacement and lasting transformation of entire refugee camps. Prolonged displacement, widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, and the effective emptying of entire refugee camps amount to grave infringements of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the prohibitions on forcible transfer, collective punishment, and arbitrary interference with the right to housing and family life.

Against this backdrop, recent statements by Defence Minister Israel Katz are particularly alarming. Last week, Minister Katz announced that he had instructed the military to prepare to take control of an additional refugee camp in the West Bank and displace its residents. According to media reports, the Security Cabinet has also discussed expanding military operations to other refugee camps. The ongoing operation in Qalandia therefore raises serious concerns that the approach implemented in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams is now being extended to another refugee camp.

Qalandia may be One of the Last Opportunities to Prevent the Repetition of this Pattern

The experience of the northern West Bank demonstrates that once refugee camps are emptied, homes demolished, and residents prevented from returning, subsequent legal proceedings and diplomatic engagement have thus far proven unable to reverse the resulting reality. The window for effective action therefore exists now, before another refugee camp undergoes the same process. At this stage, sustained and coordinated international engagement may be the only realistic means of preventing another mass displacement and the creation of further irreversible facts on the ground.

We therefore urgently call upon diplomatic missions to:

1. Seek immediate clarification from the Israeli authorities regarding the objectives, scope, and anticipated duration of the operation in Qalandia Refugee Camp.

2. Convey clear opposition to any measures involving destruction of civilian property, the forcible displacement of protected persons, or the prolonged prevention of residents' return.

3. Communicate publicly and privately that the replication of the model seen in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams in Qalandia or any other refugee camp would represent a grave escalation with profound humanitarian and legal consequences.

The coming days may determine whether Qalandia remains the site of a limited military operation or becomes the next refugee camp subjected to prolonged displacement and irreversible transformation. Immediate diplomatic engagement is therefore essential while there remains an opportunity to prevent another irreversible humanitarian and legal crisis.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights, Breaking the Silence, Combatants for Peace, Akevot: Institute for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Research, Zochrot, Parents Against Child Detention, Bimkom – Planning for Human Rights, B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Emek Shaveh, Zazim – Community Action, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, MachsomWatch, and Ir Amim.

🧠 No era flojera. Era un TDAH que nadie supo ver. 💛

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