ISTANBUL - More than 20,000 Palestinians have been expelled from the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank since Israel attacked the city and the region, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.
"The occupation army (Israel) has destroyed the entire Jenin refugee camp and forced more than 20,000 of its residents to leave their homes, documents and personal belongings," Jenin Deputy Governor Mansour al-Saadi told Voice of Palestine radio on Sunday, as quoted by Anadolu.
The displaced Palestinians are expected to seek refuge in other West Bank towns as the camp is no longer habitable.
Saadi called the demolition an Israeli "conspiracy" to wipe out the refugee camp.
He described Israel's attacks on the city and refugee camp of Jenin as "collective punishment" targeting nearly 400,000 Palestinians there.
He also highlighted the huge economic losses caused by the evictions and the disruption to the education system.
Saadi called on the international community to "enter the camp" to document Israeli crimes as the bodies of those who died are likely "still buried under the rubble of destroyed homes."
The demolitions came after the Israeli military attacked the city and refugee camp of Jenin on January 21, killing at least 25 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Zionist army expanded its attacks on Tulkarm on January 27, killing five people. On February 2, another attack was launched on the town of Tammun and the Far'a refugee camp in Tubas city.
Tensions in the West Bank have escalated after a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal came into effect in the Gaza Strip on January 19, halting more than 15 months of Israeli aggression.
Since October 2023, the aggression has devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed nearly 48,200 of its inhabitants.
In the occupied West Bank, at least 906 Palestinians have lost their lives during the same period.
Since 1953, the Jenin refugee camp has been home to tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.