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Yesterday, 17 June 2025, the Israeli Supreme Court (SCT) rejected a petition filed by Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, on 12 June, to halt sweeping demolitions in the Jenin refugee camp. The SCT authorized the Israeli military to proceed with the destruction of nearly 90 civilian buildings, comprising approximately 300 residential units that housed hundreds of Palestinian refugee families who have already been displaced and are currently sheltering in nearby towns. The demolition orders were issued on 9 June and took effect on 12 June.
Case Citation: HCJ 32501-06-25 Adalah v. Minister of Defense
CLICK HERE to read the [Hebrew] decision
In its decision, the Court accepted the military’s sweeping claim that the demolitions are necessary to ensure “freedom of movement” for Israeli forces within the camp. The Court did not address the fact that the area is currently empty and that no combat is taking place, nor did it question the military’s classification of the entire refugee camp as a combat zone.
The petition, filed by Adalah’s legal director Dr. Suhad Bishara, argues that the demolitions constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law. These demolition orders follow previous orders issued on 19 March 2025, which authorized the destruction of around 95 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp. Extensive additional demolitions have taken place in the past months without prior notice, making their full scale difficult to assess. A Supreme Court petition challenging the March order was rejected. The new petition argued that the cumulative escalation of demolitions of civilian homes and buildings demand urgent judicial review.
Responding to Adalah's previously issued letter in this regard the military claimed that the presence of alleged “terror infrastructure” renders the entire area a combat zone and justifies the demolitions under “military necessity”. This reasoning, as argued in the petition, erases the distinction between civilians and combatants, and dangerously transforms Palestinian refugee camps into zones of unrestricted military destruction. Consequently, the demolition orders contradict fundamental principles of international law, and their execution could amount to war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In response to the ruling, Adalah commented:
“This Supreme Court decision endorses the Israeli military’s systematic destruction of Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, in violation of international law. The Court’s refusal to intervene enables a policy of collective punishment and forced displacement on a massive scale, carried out with full impunity.”
The demolition orders were issued amid Israel’s ongoing military assaults across the West Bank, which have heavily targeted Palestinian refugee camps —forcing some 40,000 people from their homes. These orders also follow vast demolitions that were previously upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court in rejecting an Adalah petition on 7 May 2025 against mass demolitions of over 100 homes and civilian buildings in the Nur Shams and Tulkarem refugee camps.
Related Press Releases:
Adalah Petitions Israeli Supreme Court to Halt Mass Demolitions in Nur Shams and Tulkarem Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Occupied West Bank, 6 May 2025
Israeli Supreme Court Rejects Petition Against Mass Demolitions in Nur Shams and Tulkarem Refugee Camps in the Occupied West Bank, 9 May 2025
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