TULKAREM, Palestine / ISTANBUL

A Palestinian displaced by Israel says a Greek Orthodox church in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem became a lifeline for him and his family after they were forced from their home due to ongoing Israeli aggression.

Majed Yassin, 62, has been living with his family inside the church for about 10 months after fleeing their house in the Tulkarem refugee camp, where Israeli forces launched a military operation that later expanded across northern parts of the occupied West Bank, he told Anadolu.

Yassin said he left his home after humanitarian and security conditions in the camp sharply deteriorated, with water cutoffs, fires spreading, and heavy gunfire and explosions rocking residential neighborhoods, “making it impossible to stay,” he explained.

He said the family fled “without coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross or the Palestinian Red Crescent Society,” explaining residents were told no coordination was available.

“It was a risk, but the choice was either death inside the camp or trying to survive by leaving,” Yassin added.

The Israeli army has continued its operation in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, beginning in the Jenin refugee camp before expanding to the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps.

The campaign has displaced more than 50,000 Palestinians, demolished thousands of housing units, and altered geographic and demographic features by carving new roads.

The Tulkarem camp’s media committee said Israeli forces alone demolished 1,440 homes in the camp.

Since the start of the genocide in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, Israel has intensified operations in the West Bank, including home demolitions, forced displacement and settlement expansion, steps Palestinians say are aimed at paving the way for annexation.

Palestinians and international officials warn that annexation of the West Bank would effectively end prospects for a two-state solution envisioned in multiple UN resolutions.

A home without doors

Yassin said he briefly returned to his house during Ramadan to collect basic belongings and found widespread destruction throughout the camp.

“Our home wasn’t completely demolished, but neighboring houses were, and roads were opened in their place,” he said. “There is not a single house in the camp with its door intact. All were torn off or destroyed.”

He said explosions could be heard around the clock, while black smoke filled the sky during the day from burning homes and shops.

Shelter in the church

Yassin said he sought refuge in the church because he had previously worked there and knew its caretakers, who offered him shelter. He said staying as a Muslim in a church posed no problem and was viewed by Palestinians as a humanitarian refuge.

“There is no difference between Muslim and Christian,” he said. “This is a place of worship that must be respected. I live in a designated room inside the church. Many people fled to mosques or schools, and others are still searching for shelter.”

He said he was displaced multiple times, first staying in a residential building in Tulkarem before Israeli forces ordered residents to evacuate it during Ramadan, forcing him and several families to move to the church amid harsh conditions, cold and rain.

The church, Yassin described, was a “lifeline” as the military operation continued, saying what is happening in Tulkarem camp has turned the lives of thousands of Palestinians into daily suffering.

The Greek Orthodox church in Tulkarem was founded in 1890. Before Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, about 1,200 Christians lived in the city, but today the Christian presence is nearly nonexistent.

He added that prayers have not been regularly held at the church for years, except for occasional visits by Palestinian Christians from areas inside Israel.

A stolen life

Yassin said Tulkarem camp is where he was born and raised and where he built his social and human ties.

“The camp is family, neighbors and friends,” he said. “We lived simply. Everyone shared joy and grief.”

He said displacement not only deprived him of his home but also separated him from relatives and friends who fled to other areas, adding that many can no longer afford transportation costs to return to the city.

Aid and relief

Tulkarem Gov. Abdullah Kamil told Anadolu that the governorate has provided as much support as possible to displaced residents, both directly through the Palestinian government and through coordination with international institutions.

All assistance provided by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and other international organizations is coordinated with the governorate and follows its guidance, he said.

Kamil stressed that needs are extremely high, while available resources fall far short of the scale of the worsening crisis in the West Bank and Gaza.

He described the ongoing Israeli attacks, whether by military and security forces or illegal settlers, as placing heavy burdens and growing financial responsibilities on the Palestinian Authority, calling it “deliberate exhaustion by Israel.”

Kamil said governorate teams have worked to rehabilitate what they can of roads and infrastructure, including repairing the main road and intensifying relief efforts.

Daily assistance includes food distribution, along with growing needs for water, clothing and basic supplies, especially for children and the elderly, he added.

A unified committee was formed to manage relief and displacement efforts, he said, noting that conditions vary among displaced families. Some are staying with relatives or friends; others moved into apartments they previously owned, while some left the governorate for other areas.

Kamil said the governorate provided financial aid to cover apartment rents and distributed relief supplies, while families of prisoners also received direct financial assistance.

About 4,500 families have been affected, all facing severe shortages of food, water, clothing and other basic needs, he said.

The Israeli military operation remains ongoing with no clear end in sight, Kamil added, citing what he described as “a lack of international attention to developments in the West Bank,” including refugee camps and escalating illegal settler attacks.