UN rights office spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan said the forced uprooting underway may constitute a crime under international law, stressing that “permanently displacing the civilian population within occupied territory amounts to unlawful transfer,” and depending on the circumstances, “could be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.” He said the campaign is “emptying large parts of the West Bank of Palestinians.”

The UN said the offensive, launched in January, is impacting several northern refugee camps. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for UNRWA, described it as “the longest since … the Second Intifada,” and warned it was causing “the largest population displacement of the Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967.”