Conditions for return: silence, submission, no homes

Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reports that Israel has imposed sweeping conditions for the return of more than 44,000 Palestinians displaced from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams. Since early 2025, families have been uprooted and scattered across nearby villages, schools, mosques, and rented apartments they can no longer afford.

According to local officials, a U.S. delegation visited Nur Shams two months ago, in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, to deliver Israel’s terms. Beyond immediate restrictions, Israel presented a far-reaching “roadmap” for withdrawal and return, which demands:

• A total ban on political activity inside the camps
• Security vetting of all returnees by Israeli forces, with Israel reserving the right to deny entry
• The exclusion of UNRWA from any future operations
• Acceptance of the new physical layout created by demolitions, including widened streets and no return to destroyed homes
• The Palestinian Authority tasked with rebuilding infrastructure under full Israeli military oversight, alongside the deployment of PA security units
• Establishment of a joint Israeli–PA security center inside the camps
• A PA commitment to resettle nearly half of the displaced population outside the camps

Israel has warned that failure to comply could trigger another military invasion at any time.

On the ground, the destruction is staggering. In Jenin, more than 70% of homes were leveled, with the remainder left uninhabitable. In Nur Shams and Tulkarm, some 400 homes were demolished, 80 burned, and every single dwelling damaged — losses estimated at $79 million. Whole neighborhoods, shops, clinics, and schools have been erased.

Al-Akhbar notes that all three camps remain under a permanent Israeli military presence, with checkpoints, patrols, and surveillance systems entrenched. Despite this, residents vow to return regardless of the restrictions, rejecting any conditions that would erase the camps and the refugee question itself.

Source: Al-Akhbar