Israel carrying out ‘ethnic cleansing’ in West Bank city of Hebron: Israeli rights group

An Israeli rights group said Saturday that Israel is extending its “ethnic cleansing” campaign to the West Bank city of Hebron, with plans for mass displacement and destruction already being put into action. The group called B’Tselem urged governments and international institutions to use all means available under international law to prevent the forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians, collective punishment, and extensive unlawful destruction. “Israeli leaders are openly declaring their intentions, and actions on the ground have already begun,” it said. Following a shooting near Hebron on Friday that killed two Israeli soldiers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced plans to forcibly displace Palestinian residents and carry out extensive destruction, said B’Tselem. “We will apply in the cities the successful offensive model we implemented in the refugee camps,” said Netanyahu. That model has already displaced more than 33,000 Palestinians in the northern West Bank, said the group, warning that Israeli leaders are threatening to bring the same mass displacement and destruction to Hebron. Israeli forces have cordoned off Hebron and nearby Halhul, while the Civil Administration has begun demolishing Palestinian structures in the Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood, it said. Meanwhile, extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced four new settlement farming outposts in the South Hebron Hills. B’Tselem warned that the plans could constitute war crimes and echoed Israel’s devastating operations during its multi-year genocide in the Gaza Strip. It described them as part of a broader effort to dismantle Palestinian life while expanding settlements and entrenching permanent Israeli control. “The world cannot stand by as Israel continues its assault on Palestinians, waiting for yet more neighborhoods to be emptied and erased before intervening,” it said. The statement came as the Israeli army continued its siege of Hebron for a second day, forcing dozens of Palestinians from their homes, demolishing a residential building and other structures, and raiding homes. The closure followed the shooting, in which two Palestinians were also killed and three other soldiers were wounded, according to Israeli figures.