The High Court of Justice on Sunday ordered the state to provide a timetable for completing the measures it says are needed before Palestinians displaced from three refugee camps in the northern West Bank can return to their homes, and to say whether that work can be accelerated.
The justices also asked the state to address the petitioners’ claims about shortcomings in humanitarian aid to residents. The state must submit its response by November 23, 2026. The court did not order an immediate return or direct the IDF to withdraw from the camps.
The ruling came in a petition filed by six Palestinian residents and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which seeks to enable the residents’ return to their homes in the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps and to establish a mechanism for the return of other displaced residents. The petition also asks the state to provide for residents’ humanitarian needs until they can return.
The decision prompted Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to instruct the IDF not to cooperate with the court.
Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and Justices Alex Stein and Khaled Kabub noted that about one year and nine months had passed since the start of Operation Iron Wall, the IDF operation launched in the northern West Bank back in January 2025. According to the state, the security conditions needed for residents to return had still not been met.
Court seeks timeline to return West Bank residents to refugee camps
The case has been before the court since September 2025. In its preliminary response, filed on February 3, the state argued that continuing security needs prevented residents from returning. It said the military had not ordered residents to leave and that most had left before the operation began. The response also acknowledged that residents could not return to the camps, except for limited purposes coordinated with the military. A Central Command officer filed an affidavit supporting the state’s account two days later.
At a hearing on March 30, the court heard from the parties and held a closed discussion with security officials. In a decision following the hearing, the justices noted that more than 400 buildings had been demolished in the camps on the military commander’s orders, in addition to buildings damaged or destroyed during fighting, and that some residents had yet to return. They asked the state to submit an update by July 1.
The state filed its update on August 24, after receiving extensions. It told the court that security conditions had not materially changed and that the military was continuing to find weapons and explosives in the camps. The state said the military needed to maintain operational control and that residents could not return under current conditions. It also said its review found that residents’ humanitarian needs were being adequately met.
In their September 17 response, the petitioners challenged both the state’s security justification and its assessment of humanitarian conditions. They argued that the state’s update described a continuing policy aimed at maintaining long-term security control and preventing future threats, rather than a need to keep residents away during active fighting. They also disputed the state’s account of the aid available to displaced families.
Smotrich called on Netanyahu and Katz to tell the IDF not to cooperate with the justices
After Sunday’s ruling, Smotrich accused the justices of endangering Israel’s security and warned that residents’ return would allow terrorist infrastructure to be rebuilt in the northern West Bank. He also compared the court’s involvement to its role in Gaza before the October 7 massacre and said the justices should themselves face investigation.
“I call on the prime minister and my colleague, the defense minister, to instruct the IDF not to cooperate with the court and not to allow the terrorist camps to be reestablished,” Smotrich said.
He argued that security decisions should rest solely with elected officials and reiterated his support for changes to Israel’s judicial system.
