Protection in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem)

Approximately 871,500 Palestine refugees live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. They face a protracted protection crisis, resulting primarily from the ongoing Israeli occupation, and exacerbated by a range of vulnerabilities. Protection threats present in the West Bank include, among others: excessive use of force by Israeli Security Forces (ISF); military incursions into refugee camps; detention of minors; settler violence and settlement expansion; movement and access restrictions; forced displacement; and home demolitions.  

Levels of violence unseen for two decades resulted in 2023 being the deadliest year in the West Bank since the United Nations began recording casualties: 521 Palestinians killed, of whom 283 were Palestine refugees. Among these were 62 refugee children. The 19 refugee camps in the West Bank are routinely subject to ISF search and arrest operations, which result in clashes, refugee casualties, and damage to refugee property and camp infrastructure. The use of lethal force during such operations has increased in recent years, with most injuries in and around Palestine refugee camps attributed to the use of live ammunition by the ISF. The use of airstrikes against camps in the West Bank resumed in 2023 for the first time since the second intifada (2000-2005), with four camps in the northern West Bank subjected to ISF airstrikes: Jenin, Balata, Nur Shams, and Tulkarm camps.  

Settler violence and intimidation directed towards Palestinians in the West Bank has been increasing, accompanied by heightened impunity for violations of international law. Bedouin and herder communities, many of which are Palestine refugees, have been particularly impacted by settler harassment. This has occurred alongside Israeli legislative developments enabling massive settlement expansion in the West Bank.  

Israel continues to regulate access and movement in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, using a complex network of physical and administrative barriers, including walls, checkpoints, barriers, and permits. Since 7 October 2023, movement across the West Bank has become increasingly constrained, with heightened access restrictions limiting access to essential services, employment and livelihood opportunities, and humanitarian assistance.  

There were record numbers of Palestinians detained during 2023, including 1,610 Palestine refugees. In 2023 there were 457 children detained in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The number of administrative detainees, held without charge or trial, is at numbers last seen during the first intifada (1987-1993), having increased dramatically since late 2023.  

In support of the protection of Palestine refugees, UNRWA carefully monitors the situation inside and outside refugee camps and engages in facts-based dialogue with all duty bearers for protection and respect of rights of Palestine refugees. UNRWA works to support Palestine refugees through service delivery ensuring the incorporation of both humanitarian and protection principles in its programmes.  

*Last updated: May 2024 

READ MORE: 

• Protecting Palestine refugee herding communities in Area C amidst heightened levels of settler violence  (2024) 

• Jenin Emergency  (2023) 

• The West Bank: five children reported killed during Israeli security forces’ operation on refugee camp in the north (2023) 

• Trapped at home in tears and fear - families in Jenin Camp plead for protection amid an escalation in violence and a lack of prospects (2023) 

• Imprisoned without charge: teenager Amal Muamar Nakhleh’s story of administrative detention (2022) 

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child and Palestine refugee children (2019)