• New makeshift home falls short in terms of both infrastructure and amenities

TULKAREM, Palestine / ISTANBUL 

A Palestinian woman forcibly displaced from her home in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank says Israel’s ongoing military operations have left her family without proper shelter, belongings, or a sense of security, calling the experience “not just displacement, but a painful uprooting.”

Nihaye El-Cundi, 54, said she was evicted from her home in the camp east of Tulkarem, where the Israeli army has carried out repeated raids and demolitions over the past year.

The Israeli army has intensified operations across the northern West Bank since January, targeting refugee camps including Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams as part of efforts that Israel says aim to eliminate the idea of “the return of refugees.”

The operations have forcibly displaced more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to local estimates, with many families fleeing without the chance to retrieve personal belongings.

The mass displacement has revived memories of the Nakba — the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war — when families were driven from their homes and kept the keys as symbols of return.

In 2024, displaced families have been again forced to seek shelter wherever possible, often in homes lacking basic infrastructure, with no clarity on when or if they will be able to return. Israel has continued demolitions in these camps during the period.

Feeling of being uprooted

Cundi is one of thousands of Palestinian women displaced from Nur Shams. She now lives with her husband and daughter in a rented house in a nearby village.

“Only those who have experienced it can understand what we went through. I thought this house was my living space, my life, a place I would return to no matter how tired I was. But suddenly I found myself outside the house, and I had nothing with me,” she said.

“I have nothing left. My furniture, my gold, my savings, even the ring on my finger is gone. Everything I saved for years is lost under the rubble of the house. Everything we worked hard for years, saving every penny, is gone,” she added.

Daily routines became torment

Cundi said forced displacement has been especially difficult, despite her family being small.

“I am a woman who can take care of herself. My husband is with me. But despite this, I have suffered a lot. What do families of five or six people or families with sick and elderly people do?” she said.

She said the house where they are currently staying lacks adequate infrastructure and services.

“We entered the winter without a heating system, without furniture, and without a sense of security. Even the simplest daily routines have become a torment. Cooking, washing clothes, bathing, and even sleeping. These are all struggles we experience every day,” she said.

“I wash the clothes, and because I don't have a dryer or heater, I wait four or five days for them to dry. Simple household appliances are as painful as losing large appliances, because these simple appliances give a person the feeling of being at home,” she added.

Shattered memories

Cundi said her family once slept peacefully in their home but now struggles with cold conditions and health problems in their temporary accommodation.

Her teenage daughter, who once had her own room, now sleeps on the floor, she said, adding that she tries to reassure her that the situation is temporary.

Cundi said she learned from photos taken by neighbors that her home in Nur Shams had been severely damaged.

“The house is completely in ruins. The furniture is broken, the cupboards are overturned, there are bullet holes in the refrigerator. Official documents, my daughter's belongings, and the bedrooms, everything has been destroyed,” she said.

Forced displacement from generation to generation

Cundi said her mother, now 100 years old, was also displaced during the Nakba in 1948.

“My mother was displaced before and now she’s being displaced again. This scene brings to mind the first displacement. What is happening in Nur Shams is not just about the destruction of houses. It’s also about the destruction of human dignity and privacy,” she said.

She added that Israel’s actions have affected every aspect of life in the camp, including education, health care, and children’s daily activities.

Cundi said homes, schools, roads, and public institutions are all being targeted, stressing that her experience represents just one of hundreds of similar cases.