West Bankupdated 2h ago3 min read
MapIsraeli Forces Displaced 3,171 People From Hebron Homes After Shooting Killed Soldiers
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Hebron operation displaced about 2,670 to 3,189 residents. Forces evacuated homes, demolished structures, and blocked access in Hebron.
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Hebron operation displaces families
Israeli forces launched a military operation in Hebron on Friday night, after a shooting near Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others wounded. The Hebron Municipality said Israeli forces had forcibly displaced about 3,171 people from their homes, particularly in the Deir Baha and Al-Jalda areas, and it said hundreds of residents remained trapped inside their homes and were prevented from leaving. Rafiq al-Jabari, deputy governor of Hebron, said the city was experiencing "extremely harsh and difficult" conditions as the Israeli operation continued, accompanied by house raids, arrests and interrogations.
The operation began on Friday, October 23, and the escalation followed an attack by two Palestinians on an Israeli military post near Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers and the two attackers were killed. The Times of Israel said the Palestinian Authority reported that "More than 2,670 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Hebron" by Israeli occupation forces, citing data from Hebron Municipality.
Netanyahu threatens destruction
Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to destroy the neighborhood from which those responsible for an attack that left two Israeli soldiers dead originated, and he said, "We will act to destroy this place, to change it completely." Yousef Al Jabari, the mayor of Hebron, described the Israeli response as disproportionate and denounced the displacement of families, the demolitions, and the closure of the city. The UN warned that the Israeli operation raises serious concerns of "ethnic cleansing," and Volker Turk said the sweeping steps taken raise grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force.
The IDF said the operation was expected to last several days and was "focused and limited to the area from which the terrorists operated," while the municipality said 3,189 people had been forced from their homes by the ongoing operation. The Times of Israel reported that the IDF said it had apprehended some 50 suspects for questioning and seized just two guns during the raid in the neighborhood where the two gunmen lived.
Displacement, demolitions, and access
Oxfam Intermón said the collective punishment in the West Bank also reaches the olive groves, and it warned that movement restrictions tighten under Israel’s illegal occupation so workers cannot reach their jobs and farmers cannot access their lands. Oxfam Intermón said, "All of this occurs during the olive harvest," and it argued that severe access restrictions prevent many from reaching their olive groves to harvest the crops on which families rely. The Jerusalem Post reported that Physicians for Human Rights Israel’s Palestinian Territory Department director Milena Ansari said patients were unable to reach critical medical care promptly, including a six-month-old baby suffering from a lung infection who had to wait two days to be transferred from a hospital in Ramallah to Hebron.
The Times of Israel said the IDF located an underground passageway adjacent to the home of one of the Palestinian gunmen, and it reported that the tunnel was approximately 15 meters deep and 75 centimeters wide. The UN rights chief Volker Turk said, "Those who have been displaced must be allowed to return home," and he added that Israel must ensure compensation and reparation for unlawful evictions and demolitions, and associated displacement.