Israel Supreme Court rejects plea to block demolitions of Palestinian homes in occupied West Bank

The Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition on Friday to block Israel's military from demolishing a swathe of civilian buildings in the occupied West Bank.

The petition, filed on Tuesday by Israel-based human rights group Adalah, called on the court to immediately cancel the demolition orders, which target more than 100 Palestinian homes and civilian buildings in the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

More than 1,000 Palestinians will be displaced by the demolitions.

The military has justified the decision by arguing there is a "necessity" to override civilian protections because of alleged "terror infrastructure" in the area.

It had already begun the demolitions prior to the court's decision, knocking down several buildings in Nur Shams on Tuesday.

In its filing, Adalah said that the demolition orders contravened Israeli and international law because the military did not inform the residents of the decision, denying them an opportunity to contest it.

But in its decision, the Supreme Court chose to throw out the petition without a hearing and backed the military's destruction of civilian infrastructure in what it says are combat zones.

In a preliminary judgment earlier in the week, the court had agreed that there were "clear military purposes" for the demolitions and rejected a request for a temporary injunction.

Suhad Bishara, Adalah's legal director, said the Supreme Court is "endorsing grave violations of international humanitarian law that can amount to war crimes" committed by the Israeli military.

"By accepting the army’s vague claim that it needs more space to continue its assaults, without demanding a shred of evidence, the Court has not only legitimized the military’s sweeping powers, but also its relentless violent campaign against Palestinian refugees," she said.

"There is no judicial oversight, no scrutiny, and no accountability."

The military has since January been waging a destructive military campaign against armed Palestinian groups in Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Jenin, codenamed 'Operation Iron Wall'.

Over the past five months, Israeli forces have forcibly displaced tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and razed hundreds of buildings to the ground.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said that the military has rendered the camps "uninhabitable" and accused it of using tactics akin to its destruction of Gaza.