Region rails against Israeli minister's call for Palestinians to be evicted from West Bank

Foreign Minister Israel Katz's comments come after Israeli forces killed nine in the occupied territory

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the military operations in the occupied West Bank were terror-related. Bloomberg

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Nations from across the Middle East have criticised an order to evict Palestinians from the West Bank, made by Israel's Foreign Minister on Wednesday.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the eviction of Palestinians from areas in the north of the occupied West Bank where the military was conducting an offensive on Wednesday.

Mr Katz said Israeli forces operating in Jenin, Tulkarm and other areas were working to dismantle an Iranian-backed network being built up in the area.

“We need to deal with the [terror] threat exactly as we deal with terror infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians and any other step needed,” he said in a post on X on Wednesday.

A post made later in English, which appeared to be a translation of the earlier one, said any such “temporary evacuation” would only occur “in some cases of intense combat”, during which the population would be moved “from one neighbourhood to another within the refugee camp to prevent civilian harm”.

“Iran is working to establish a terror front against Israel in [the West Bank], according to the model it used in Lebanon and Gaza, by funding and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan,” Mr Katz said.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the expansion of action against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is “a dangerous escalation that must be stopped".

“The region and its security must not remain hostage to the radicalism of this Israeli government. International law must be applied,” Mr Safadi posted on X.

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti told BBC News that Israeli ministers, including Mr Katz, have a goal “clearly to annex the West Bank to kill any opportunity for Palestinians to be free from this occupation”.

Mr Barghouti said Israel is “trying to bring in Iran into the formula to cover up the reality” and “to justify the fact that it is continuing to avoid the main issue here, which is the Palestinian issue”.

He told Democracy Now that Mr Katz “means war on every Palestinian, war on every Palestinian child”.

Egypt strongly condemned Israel's incursions into the West Bank in a Foreign Ministry statement on Wednesday.

Cairo views Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in the occupied territory as a systematic violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions, the ministry said.

The statement also accused Israel of persisting with a policy of escalation and expanding the scope of the conflict in Palestinian territories.

It called for a unified and effective international stance to protect the Palestinian people and end the persecution of unarmed civilians, the imposition of restrictions and the seizure of private property.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry also condemned Israel's actions, describing the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as “the main threat to international security”.

Beyond the region, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Mr Katz “threatens to fuel further instability”.

“The Israeli major military operation in the occupied West Bank must not constitute the premises of a war extension from Gaza, including full-scale destruction,” he wrote in a post on X.

“The parallel drew by Minister Katz, especially on evacuating Palestinian residents, threatens to fuel further instability.”

Wednesday's offensive is the latest episode of violence in the West Bank amid a surge in recent weeks, with at least 660 people killed since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Several hours after Mr Katz's comments, Wafa reported that Israeli forces had ordered Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp, near Tulkarm, to leave within four hours.

At least nine people were killed in Israeli attacks on refugee camps in Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health authorities said on Wednesday, as the Israeli army launched its biggest military operations there in years.

Three Palestinian men were killed in an Israeli drone strike on their vehicle in the village of Seir, south-east of Jenin, Wafa reported. At least two were killed in Jenin refugee camp and two in the Far'a camp in Tubas.

Hundreds of soldiers stormed the camps, Israeli media reported.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut short his official visit to Saudi Arabia and was returning to the West Bank “as a result of Israel's escalated aggression”, Wafa said. Mr Abbas arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday.

Israel's operation in the area “risks seriously deepening the already catastrophic situation” in the Palestinian territory, the UN said.

“Killings must be thoroughly and independently investigated. Those responsible must be held to account,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said.

“Israel, as the occupying power, must abide by its obligations under international law.”

The International Court of Justice ruled in July that Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, is illegal and should end.