RAMALLAH, Palestine
Amid ongoing Israeli military offensives in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian women are enduring harsh conditions after being forced to flee their homes under the threat of Israeli gunfire, with many of their houses destroyed or demolished.
On International Women’s Day, Palestinian women in the West Bank face Israel’s denial of their most basic rights, including the right to life, housing, and security.
Many Palestinian women, now displaced by Israeli military actions, live in overcrowded shelters under dire humanitarian conditions, often without privacy.
They expressed deep concerns about their future once the Israeli assault, which began on Jan. 21, ends. These women currently reside in refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams in the northern West Bank.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), approximately 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced from camps in the northern West Bank due to ongoing Israeli military operations.
Suffering of displacement
Fatiha Shihada, a displaced Palestinian woman, told Anadolu that she was forced to flee her home in the Jenin refugee camp under the threat of Israeli gunfire.
She said her life has been difficult since she left her home about 40 days ago, and she still does not know whether her house has been destroyed or is still standing.
Shihada described life in displacement centers, where she struggles with harsh winter conditions and is observing fasting month of Ramadan in a way completely different from previous years. She said she feels like she is living “without a life.”
Another displaced woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she fled the Jenin camp with her elderly mother.
“Without the help of neighbors, we wouldn’t have been able to leave. The camp is destroyed, and today we live with an uncertain fate,” she said.
Mockery from Israeli army
Ansam Abu Zahra, a displaced woman from the Al-Manshiya neighborhood in the Nur Shams camp, spoke about her sense of despair.
“It’s hard to live with uncertainty, not knowing what your fate will be. Your house is destroyed, and you have no place to go,” she said.
She recalled how Israeli soldiers mocked them and laughed at their suffering.
Abu Zahra also voiced concern over the long-term consequences of the Israeli offensive, saying that many families are now homeless and without belongings. Some, in their rush to escape, even forgot their gold—one of their last financial resources.
Harsh conditions
Another displaced woman, Umm Ahmad Ghannam, described the heartbreak of watching her home in Nur Shams camp being destroyed on television.
“This is difficult. I live in uncertainty. The house we built with our hard work is gone. We put all our lives, memories, and everything into it,” she said.
Despite losing her home, she vowed to return if the Israeli army withdraws.
“Despite the destruction of the house, I will return to the camp and set up a tent in place of the house. I will not leave,” she added.
Observing Ramadan amid displacement
Nihada Al-Jundi, a displaced woman from the Nur Shams camp, said: “The hardest moment of my life was the first day of iftar during Ramadan. Tears streamed down from me, my husband, and my daughter,” she said.
“Every woman and homemaker experiences sadness in displacement. Nothing can replace the home that once embraced us. Now we are far from our belongings, our lives, and our privacy,” she added.
“I cannot forgive this oppression and pain to those who caused it, let alone to those whose homes were destroyed and burned on the first day of Ramadan,” Jundi said.
She noted that the rituals of Ramadan and moments of quiet worship were absent this year due to forced displacement.
Ongoing Israeli offensives
Israeli military offensives in northern West Bank refugee camps, which began 47 days ago in Jenin and its camp, continue in Tulkarem and its camp for the 41st day. The invasion of Nur Shams camp has now entered its 28th day.
Local and international human rights groups report that Israeli forces have forced residents to flee their homes and have engaged in widespread demolition of houses and infrastructure in these camps.
Palestinian authorities warn that the large-scale destruction is part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex the West Bank and declare sovereignty over it—a move they say could mark the official end of the two-state solution.
Tension has been running high across the West Bank, where at least 930 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.
In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
