The City’s Resilience in the Face of Systematic Destruction

Tulkarm has not been spared from the horrors across the West Bank. It has been a frontline of confrontation with the Israeli aggression. What is going on here replicates Israel’s war on Gaza. The same destructive mindset decides to besiege and destroy the city, killing dozens of citizens and leaving hundreds others with various wounds. The Israeli occupying forces (IOF) have systematically destroyed infrastructure, private and public property to put pressure on citizens and disrupt functions of Tulkarm Municipality as a service provider. 

Since the first day of the war on Gaza and West Bank cities, the municipality has risen to the occasion, declared a state of extreme emergency, and mobilized all resources to empower and alleviate suffering of the local community. Under a tight siege, the city has been subject to over 22 raids and surrounded by closed checkpoints. This full siege aims to strangle the city’s economy and prevent residents from being in touch with their relatives inside the Green Line. Targeting agricultural land, the IOF levelled dozens of dunums of crop fields adjacent to the Apartheid Wall, causing severe losses to farmers. The commercial crossing has also been closed, depriving thousands of workers from accessing their workplaces and affecting thousands of families. 

In the face of these daunting challenges, guided by the municipal council, the municipality has used all capabilities to lessen the burden on citizens and confront recurrent destruction of vital infrastructure, including electricity, water and sanitation networks. It took necessary action promptly. Financial loss resulting from the latest aggression, particularly in the Nur Shams refugee camp, was estimated NIS 15 million. This involved the destruction of power generators, transformers, water and sanitation grids, agricultural land, and public and private property. Not only do the IOF deliberately destroy property, but they also attempt to create a humanitarian crisis to drive citizens out of their homes and deprive them of their most basic rights. Cutting off water supplies to homes, schools and hospitals, damaging roads and streets, and destroying electricity and communication networks adversely impact citizens’ daily life and aggravate their suffering. 

Municipality’s role in repairing infrastructure damage resulting from Israeli raids 

Damages on The Electricity Network

In Tulkarm, the IOF deliberately targeted the already overstretched electricity grid. In July 2024, the Council of Ministers announced an end to the electricity crisis in the Tulkarm governorate by installing and operating a connection line between the Tulkarm and Sarra power stations. Soon, however, the crisis tragically deteriorated. The Israeli aggression cut off power supply to thousands of homes and institutions, directly affecting citizens’ lives. In addition to obstructing businesses, power outage hampered essential service delivery, exacerbated the suffering of patients and older persons, and inflicted huge economic losses, particularly on electricity-dependent sectors. 

Despite unrelenting efforts made by the municipality in collaboration with local and international partners to repair damage and restore the power supply, challenges continue to be significant. The cost of grid repairs is a hight as US$ 1,366,420. Israeli policies obstruct municipal efforts and measures to maintain basic service provision and respond to emerging public needs. 

Damages on Road, Water, And Sanitation Networks

In Tulkarm, the scenario of destruction has been repeated over and over again, especially in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps. The IOF bulldozers ravaged infrastructure, dug as deep as half a metre beneath the surface of streets, and caused widespread destruction to water and sanitation networks in at least 12 sites. The destruction created a humanitarian catastrophe, cutting off water supplies to the local community, mixing potable water with wastewater, fuelling the flow of wastewater into streets and homes, and creating a breeding ground for infection and disease. The crisis was exacerbated by rainfall, with floods causing a wider spread of contaminated water and posing a serious public health risk. Initial losses resulting from destruction are estimated at US$ 901,000 to the water network, US$ 2,769,900 to the sanitation network, and US$ 513,000 to public health and the environment. 

These practices and violations required that the municipality make strenuous efforts around the clock to repair main water networks, ensure that citizens have access to potable water, and maintain sewer lines to reduce negative health and environmental impacts. However, as soon as municipal staff manage to restore networks, the IOF destroy them once more in every raid. For example, soon after municipal staff were done with restoring main water networks following a recent incursion, the IOF came back and destroyed them again. 

Damages on Private and Public Property

The municipality has long worked towards improving the landscape by paving roads, planting tree, and enhancing infrastructure in both the city and the refugee camps. Nevertheless, IOF bulldozers have turned the area into a battlefield. The municipality faces a significant challenge to remove the rubble and repair what can be repaired to facilitate citizens’ life. For instance, an Israeli raid on Tulkarm refugee camp caused widespread destruction, including 160 vehicles and 200 commercial premises. While 1,979 homes sustained partial damage, another 52 were demolished. In this area alone, damage was estimated at NIS 14 million. 

Municipality’s role in repairing infrastructure damage resulting from Israeli raids

 
Municipal teams work hard to rehabilitate large sections of the streets destroyed by the aggression. Due to the severe and recurrent damage, the municipality had to use basecourse as a temporary solution to facilitate traffic on streets, which are in a condition that prevents pavement for the time being. Initial cost of this damage was estimated at US$ 5.16 million. Municipal teams also remove the rubble immediately after IOF withdrawal, focusing on reopening roads and repairing water, electricity and wastewater networks, particularly in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps. 

In the context of relieving the suffering of citizens, the municipality’s Community Engagement Unit carried out a series of relief and humanitarian activities, targeting dozens of families that were forced out of their homes. The unit provided cash aid to recharge electricity metres and distributed water and electricity recharge coupons, hundreds of food parcels, and Qurbani meat. Together with municipal staff, volunteers effectively contributed to alleviating suffering of the local community, particularly patients with cardiac and respiratory conditions, who needed a constant power supply. 

Although it aims at debilitating the city’s infrastructure, systematic destruction did nothing but strengthen the resolve of citizens. The municipality continues to lead efforts to restore normalcy, support citizens, and demonstrate resilience and flexibility in the face of emergency. This reflects the municipality’s commitment to safeguarding dignity and welfare of the local community, while ensuring sustained municipal functions in service of citizens.