RAMALLAH: Israeli troops demolished houses and cleared a wide roadway through the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, in a weeks-long operation against militant groups.
The operation, during a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that has halted fighting there for the past six weeks, has forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and emptied some of the biggest refugee camps in the northern West Bank in what some Palestinians see as a trial run for wider clearances later.
Nur Shams, outside the city of Tulkarm, is the latest camp to be virtually emptied of its inhabitants following a camp in the volatile city of Jenin to the east and a separate camp within Tulkarm itself.
Residents say bulldozers have been clearing a broad roadway through the area where houses once stood to create easy access for military vehicles, continuing one of the Israeli military’s biggest operations in the West Bank for years.
Of the usual population of some 13,000, almost none was left inside the main camp, said Nihad Al-Shawish, head of the Nur Shams camp services committee.
“There were about 3,000 people left in the camp and as of today, they have all left,” he said. “There are still some people just outside on the outskirts but there is no one left in the camp.”
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has previously said its operation aims to root out fighters from Iranian-backed militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that have established strongholds in the camps of the northern West Bank.
At least 12 people have been killed in Tulkarm during the operation, including both armed militants and civilians, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Israeli military said it had made hundreds of arrests in the northern West Bank over recent weeks, confiscating 120 weapons and destroying hundreds of explosive devices.
Gaza-style demolition
The military has denied issuing formal evacuation orders to residents of the camp, a crowded township housing descendants of Palestinians who fled their homes or were forced out in the 1948 war at the birth of the state of Israel.
But as in Jenin, residents have fled with whatever possessions they could carry in shopping bags or rucksacks as the Israeli bulldozers have demolished buildings and torn up roads, leaving the camp resembling the ruins of Gaza.
“People are leaving with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. They need food, clothing, baby milk, everything, Shawish said.
Shawish said the operation, which has coincided with Israeli moves to cut out the main United Nations Palestinian relief organization UNRWA by closing its headquarters in Jerusalem, appeared to be a test to prepare for similar moves against refugee camps across the whole of the West Bank.
“If it succeeds, they will export it to all the camps,” he said.
The operation has drawn widespread international criticism and comes amid heightened fears among Palestinians of an organized effort by Israel to formally annex the West Bank, the area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
US President Donald Trump, who recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during his first term, has not yet indicated whether he would support annexation, a move that could complicate efforts to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia.
But he has already proposed moving Palestinians out of Gaza to make way for a US property development, and has said he will give his position on the West Bank, which the Palestinians see as the core of a future independent state along with Gaza, in the near future.
For Palestinians, such talk has revived memories of the ‘Nakba’ or catastrophe when some 750,000 Palestinians lost their homes after the 1948 war and became refugees.
Israel clears another refugee camp as squeeze on West Bank tightens
https://arab.news/wfmwg
Israel clears another refugee camp as squeeze on West Bank tightens
- Nur Shams camp cleared in Israel’s latest demolition push
- Tens of thousands of Palestinians evacuated
- Israel says operation aims to crack down on militant groups
Washington presses Syria to shift from Chinese telecom systems
- Syria is exploring the possibility of procuring Chinese technology
- It was unclear whether the United States pledged financial or logistical support to Syria to do so
DAMASCUS: The United States has warned Syria against relying on Chinese technology in its telecommunications sector, arguing it conflicts with US interests and threatens US national security, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
The message was conveyed during an unreported meeting between a US State Department team and Syrian Communications Minister Abdulsalam Haykal in San Francisco on Tuesday. Washington has been coordinating closely with Damascus since 2024, when Syria’s now President Ahmed Al-Sharaa ousted longtime leader Bashar Assad, who had a strategic partnership with China.
Syria is exploring the possibility of procuring Chinese technology to support its telecommunications towers and the infrastructure of local Internet service providers, according to a Syrian businessman involved in the procurement talks.
“The US side asked for clarity on the ministry’s plans regarding Chinese telecom equipment,” said another source briefed on the talks.
But Syrian officials said infrastructure development projects were time-critical and that Damascus was seeking greater vendor diversity, the source added.
SYRIAN OFFICIALS CITE US EXPORT CONTROLS AS TELECOMS BARRIER
Syria is open to partnering with US firms but the matter was urgent and export controls and “over-compliance” remained an issue, according to person familiar with the meeting in San Francisco.
A US diplomat familiar with the discussions told Reuters that the US State Department “clearly urged Syrians to use American technology or technology from allied countries in the telecoms sector.”
It was unclear whether the United States pledged financial or logistical support to Syria to do so.
Responding to Reuters questions, a US State Department spokesperson said: “We urge countries to prioritize national security and privacy over lower-priced equipment and services in all critical infrastructure procurement. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
The spokesperson added that Chinese intelligence and security services “can legally compel Chinese citizens and companies to share sensitive data or grant unauthorized access to their customers’ systems” and promises by Chinese companies to protect customers’ privacy were “entirely inconsistent with China’s own laws and well-established practices.”
China has repeatedly rejected allegations of it using technology for spying purposes.
The Syrian Ministry of telecommunications told Reuters any decisions related to equipment and infrastructure are made “in accordance with national technical and security standards, ensuring data protection and service continuity.”
The ministry said it is also prioritizing the diversification of partnerships and technology sources to serve the national interest.
Syria’s telecom infrastructure has relied heavily on Chinese technology due to US sanctions imposed on successive Assad governments over the civil war that grew from a crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011.
Huawei technology accounts for more than 50 percent of the infrastructure of Syriatel and MTN, the country’s only telecom operators, according to a senior source at one of the companies and documents reviewed by Reuters. Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Syria is seeking to develop its private telecommunications sector, devastated by 14 years of war, by attracting foreign investment.
In early February, Saudi Arabia’s largest telecom operator, STC, announced it would invest $800 million to “strengthen telecommunications infrastructure and connect Syria regionally and internationally through a fiber-optic network extending over 4,500 kilometers.”
The ministry of telecommunications says that US restrictions “hinder the availability of many American technologies and services in the Syrian market,” emphasizing that it welcomes expanding cooperation with US companies when these restrictions are lifted.
Syria has inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, with network coverage weak outside city centers and connection speeds in many areas barely exceeding a few kilobits per second.
