Israeli demolition threat looms over vital Jenin disability rehab centre

The Al-Jaleel Society for Care and Community-based Rehabilitation has provided indispensable services to disabled Palestinians successful Jenin exile campy for decades. But now, aft repeated Israeli attacks, the centre has been destroyed, and its unit person discovered that it sits successful an Israeli-designated demolition zone.

Al-Jaleel’s unit person received nary authoritative notice, but successful aboriginal June, the Israeli service published an aerial representation showing respective buildings successful the country that were acceptable to beryllium destroyed, including the rehabilitation centre.

Zaid Am-Ali, elder advocacy serviceman for Palestine operations astatine Humanity and Inclusion, Al-Jaleel’s spouse organisation, told Al Jazeera the crushed the organisations were fixed was that the country was being secured for subject and information purposes.

“This is not the archetypal clip the centre has been targeted, the Israeli subject has destroyed parts of it during erstwhile acts of demolition successful the exile campy and has breached and ransacked the centre and tampered with assistive devices meant for persons with disabilities,” Am-Ali said.

Al Jazeera has reached retired to the Israeli subject but has not received a effect astatine the clip of publication.

Supporting thousands of Palestinians

Al-Jaleel is simply a “critical lifeline”, Am-Ali said, describing however the demolition of the centre would deprive susceptible communities successful Jenin and the wider bluish West Bank of its indispensable services.

It was established successful 1991 arsenic the Local Rehabilitation Committee, which became an autarkic NGO successful 2010 nether the sanction Al-Jaleel.

Since it archetypal opened its doors, Al-Jaleel has provided thousands of Palestinians with a wide scope of enactment and services, particularly to those with mobility impairments resulting from injury, illness, oregon conflict-related trauma.

As good arsenic prosthetics, orthotics and carnal and occupational therapies, Al-Jaleel besides offers intelligence enactment for those affected by disablement and continuing convulsive assaults perpetrated by the Israeli military, which has been attacking Jenin connected a regular ground for years, but has intensified operations since the start of 2025.

“This is the aforesaid country that has been taxable to an ongoing Israeli subject cognition for years now, causing a batch of casualties and harm to civilian infrastructure,” Am-Ali said.

Al-Jaleel’s quality to relation and supply attraction was severely compromised successful April erstwhile an Israeli onslaught damaged the building.

Although unit person since relocated and started operating from different determination owed to their displacement from the camp, they person not yet been permitted to re-enter the organisation’s archetypal gathering to retrieve immoderate instrumentality that was spared during the April attack.

Staff were told they would beryllium allowed to evacuate their instrumentality on July 12, but were past not allowed to bash so by the Israeli military.

It is unclear erstwhile oregon if unit volition beryllium capable to cod Al-Jaleel’s belongings earlier the demolition takes place. With the country present declared a closed subject zone, Al-Jaleel’s unit are being denied accusation astir the building’s status.

At the clip of writing, the centre has not been demolished, but different buildings successful its vicinity person been torn down.

Violence successful Jenin

Violence successful Jenin has escalated importantly since January 21, when the Israeli subject launched “Operation Iron Wall” successful the metropolis and the adjacent exile camp.

According to Israeli forces, the cognition is an “antiterrorism” offensive, attempting to crush Palestinian absorption efforts successful the area.

The Israeli subject has for years attempted to basal retired immoderate signifier of equipped absorption successful the occupied West Bank, conducting raids that person escalated successful severity since the opening of Israel’s warfare connected Gaza successful October 2023. At slightest 1,000 Palestinians person been killed by Israeli forces oregon settlers successful that period.

“Operation Iron Wall” – targeting Palestinian fighters successful the bluish West Bank – started successful Jenin, but has since dispersed to Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and al-Fara exile camps.

On March 22, conscionable 60 days aft the opening of the offensive, the UN bureau for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported that 40,000 Palestinian refugees had been displaced from exile camps successful the bluish West Bank.

In addition, earlier this year, Israeli authorities announced that they planned to hitch retired the Jenin exile campy completely.

Since then, Israeli bulldozers person been tearing down commercialized buildings and homes astatine an alarming rate.

Wafa, the Palestinian quality agency, reported connected June 30 that much than 600 homes and 15 roads successful Jenin campy had been demolished.

On June 17, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by Adalah, a ineligible centre for Palestinian number rights successful Israel, connected June 12 to halt the demolition of Jenin exile camp.

The Supreme Court authorised the Israeli subject to proceed with the demolition of astir 90 civilian buildings that housed hundreds of Palestinian families.

“The Israeli Supreme Court’s determination to uphold these operations, including its 7 May 2025 rejection of Adalah’s petition against the wide demolitions successful Nur Shams and Tulkarem exile camps, provides a mendacious ineligible screen for policies of forced displacement and entrenched impunity,” said Adalah.

Bigger picture

The imaginable demolition of Al-Jaleel fits into a wider signifier of Israeli attacks connected Palestinian healthcare institutions.

The targeting of wellness facilities, aesculapian unit and patients has been wide during Israel’s warfare connected Gaza. These actions are considered warfare crimes nether the 1949 Geneva Convention. Israel has justified the attacks arsenic being portion of its combat against Hamas and different equipped groups, accusing them, without immoderate overwhelming evidence, of utilizing wellness facilities arsenic screen for their bases and operations.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), astatine slightest 94 percent of each hospitals successful Gaza are damaged oregon destroyed.

Between October 7, 2023, and July 2, 2025, WHO recorded 863 attacks connected healthcare successful the West Bank. These attacks affected 203 institutions and 589 wellness transports

In a connection to Al Jazeera, WHO reported that, of the 476 authorities wellness work transportation units assessed by WHO and partners successful the West Bank successful June 2025, lone 345 are afloat functional, 112 are partially functional, 9 are non-functional, and 1 has been destroyed.

That, Am-Ali believes, is being overlooked amid the understandable absorption connected Gaza, wherever Israel has killed much than 58,000 Palestinians. And it is allowing Israel to get distant with its devastation of Palestinian beingness successful the West Bank, and its demolition of captious centres similar Al-Jaleel.

“These developments are not isolated incidents and are successful wide usurpation of planetary law, including the prohibition connected the acquisition of territory by unit nether the UN Charter and the Fourth Geneva Convention,” helium said.