JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Weeks of deadly Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank have turned Palestinian communities into 'battlefields' and left 40,000 people homeless, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday.
The violence has seen exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants - and the use of bulldozers in refugee camps for the first time in 20 years which have destroyed public services, including vital electricity and water networks.
Israel's defence minister said on Sunday forces could remain in the camps for the 'coming year'.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestine refugee agency, said that 'fear, uncertainty, and grief once again prevail. Affected camps lie in ruins.Destruction of public infrastructure, bulldozing roads and access restrictions are common place.'
More than 50 people including children have been killed since Israeli military raids started five weeks ago, the UN agency said, warning that the West Bank 'is becoming a battlefield' where ordinary Palestinians are the first and worst to suffer.
Meanwhile, UN aid coordinating office, OCHA, also condemned the 'lethal, war-like tactics' being employed by the Israeli military against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
OCHA confirmed further civilian casualties and mass displacement after a two-day Israeli military raid in the northern town of Qabatiya in Jenin governorate that ended on Monday.
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