Haaretz (English), on West Bank, 24 October 2026

Haaretz reports the Israeli assault on Hebron largely in the occupation's vocabulary: 250 families are "evacuated" rather than expelled, and the sealing of a whole city appears with no actor at all. It states the Israeli soldiers' deaths flatly while hedging settler attacks on farmers as "allegedly", never tells the reader that Israeli occupation forces shot both Palestinian attackers dead, and never once says occupied or illegal about the West Bank or the new settler farms it reports.

Serious

out of 10

What we found

Uses the occupation's words
Serious
“around 250 Palestinian families were evacuated from their homes overnight into Saturday and were permitted to take only essential belongings”
What the words do
The word "evacuated", in Haaretz's own voice, and the passive construction turn a forced expulsion into an orderly removal with no one doing it.
What a reader comes away believing
That Palestinian families left their homes in a managed evacuation, with no named actor compelling them.
What is actually the case
Israel's own defence minister acknowledged that Israeli forces forcibly displaced some 2,000 Palestinians from their homes in Hebron, and the municipality said the army forced about 1,500 people from 250 families to flee. The article never writes expelled or displaced.
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“forcibly displaced around 2,000 Palestinians from their homes in Hebron”Israeli defense minister admits having forced 2,000 Palestinians from homes in West Bank city of Hebron (opens in a new tab)
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“The Israeli army has forced around 1,500 Palestinians from 250 families to flee their homes in Hebron”Israeli army forces 1,500 Palestinians from homes in West Bank’s Hebron, plans to displace 2,500 more: Municipality (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Written straight
Hebron's deputy mayor told Haaretz that Israeli forces expelled around 250 Palestinian families from their homes overnight, allowing them to take only essential belongings.
Hides who did it
Serious
“Entry to and exit from Hebron and a nearby town have been blocked.”
What the words do
The passive "have been blocked" removes the actor from the sealing off of an entire city and a neighbouring town.
What a reader comes away believing
That the closure of Hebron simply happened, with no one responsible for it.
What is actually the case
Israeli forces sealed off Hebron and nearby Halhul, as the coverage states and as the article itself shows elsewhere when it names Israeli forces demolishing structures.
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Israeli forces sealed off Hebron and nearby Halhul on Friday”Israeli army turns Palestinian homes into military posts in West Bank city of Hebron (opens in a new tab)
- Elsewhere in the article“Israeli forces had begun demolishing structures”
Show it in the article
Written straight
Israeli occupation forces have blocked entry to and exit from Hebron and the nearby town of Halhul.
Leaves out what changes the picture
Serious
“the two assailants who fatally shot two Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint earlier that day”
What the words do
The sentence reports the soldiers' deaths and describes the two Palestinians only as assailants, and the article never says what happened to them.
What a reader comes away believing
That the two Palestinians are at large and being hunted in the raid, and that only Israelis died.
What is actually the case
Israeli forces shot both Palestinians dead at the checkpoint, as reported in three separate accounts of the same event. The word killed never appears anywhere in this article.
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Israeli forces killed both attackers, according to Israeli figures”Israeli army turns Palestinian homes into military posts in West Bank city of Hebron (opens in a new tab)
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Both attackers and two Israeli soldiers were killed”Israeli army forces 1,500 Palestinians from homes in West Bank’s Hebron, plans to displace 2,500 more: Municipality (opens in a new tab)
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “killed”.
Show it in the article
Written straight
Two Israeli soldiers were shot dead at a checkpoint near Hebron and Israeli forces killed both Palestinian attackers, according to Israeli figures.
Hedges the documented record
Serious
“three new settler farms had been established in the West Bank”
What the words do
The article reports the creation of new settler farms without saying anywhere that settlements in the West Bank are illegal.
What a reader comes away believing
That new settler farms are an ordinary development on contested land.
What is actually the case
The International Court of Justice found in July 2024 that Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law. The word illegal appears nowhere in the article.
How we know
- On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
- Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “illegal”.
Show it in the article
“at a West Bank checkpoint”
What the words do
Haaretz writes "West Bank" with no mention of occupation at any point in the piece, including where it describes an army raid, expulsions and demolitions there.
What a reader comes away believing
That the West Bank is simply a place where Israel polices checkpoints, not territory the world's highest court has ruled unlawfully occupied.
What is actually the case
The ICJ's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful. The word occupied never appears in the article, while the same event is reported elsewhere as taking place in the occupied West Bank.
How we know
- On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank”Israeli army forces 1,500 Palestinians from homes in West Bank’s Hebron, plans to displace 2,500 more: Municipality (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Written straight
Israeli occupation forces raided Hebron in the occupied West Bank, where the ICJ has ruled the occupation unlawful and the settlements illegal, and Palestinian media reported three new settler farms set up after Friday's shooting.
Doubts one side's dead and not the other's
Minor
“where settlers allegedly harassed farmers and forced them off their land”
What the words do
The word "allegedly" is attached to the Palestinian account of a settler attack, after the article has already attributed it to Palestinian media.
What a reader comes away believing
That the settler attacks on olive pickers are doubtful claims, while the Israeli deaths are established.
What is actually the case
Haaretz states the shooting of the two soldiers flatly as fact in its own voice in the opening sentence and applies no such doubt word to the military's statements. NewsCord has documented this one-sided caveating of Palestinian-sourced harm accounts.
How we know
- Elsewhere in the article“fatally shot two Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint”
- On the recordNewsCord has found that the BBC attaches verification caveats such as cannot be independently verified to Palestinian-sourced casualty and harm accounts while reporting Israeli denials and claims without equivalent caveats.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
Show it in the article
Leaves out what changes the picture
Minor
What is missing
Haaretz reports the families leaving their homes without the Israeli defence minister's statement that displaced residents would not be allowed to return until what he called "Hamas infrastructure" in the city was dismantled. Without it a reader believes the removal is a short-term, temporary measure.
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“displaced residents would not be allowed to return until what he called “Hamas infrastructure” in the city was dismantled”Israeli defense minister admits having forced 2,000 Palestinians from homes in West Bank city of Hebron (opens in a new tab)
Show where it belongs
Leaves out who was behind it
Minor
What is missing
The new settler farms are reported as having "been established", with no mention that Israel's finance minister announced new settlement farming outposts in the South Hebron Hills. Without it a reader believes freelance settlers acted alone rather than a cabinet minister announcing state-backed expansion.
How we know
- Anadolu Agency (English) reported“Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced four new settlement farming outposts in the South Hebron Hills”Israel carrying out ‘ethnic cleansing’ in West Bank city of Hebron: Israeli rights group (opens in a new tab)
- On the recordWest Bank settlers operate armed by the Israeli state and accompanied by the Israeli army.newscord.org (opens in a new tab)
Show where it belongs

Every underline is part of a finding. Press one to see why.

|MC:SUBJECT| - Haaretz

The Israeli military announced late Friday that it had

launched a raid on the Palestinian city of Hebron,

home to the two assailants who fatally shot two Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint earlier that day.

The IDF said the operation, which is expected to last several days, was "limited to the area from which the terrorists operated."

Palestinian residents would be allowed to leave the city through three designated exit points after undergoing questioning and security screening, the military added.

The city's deputy mayor told Haaretz that

around 250 Palestinian families were evacuated from their homes overnight into Saturday and were permitted to take only essential belongings. Some sought shelter at a reception center opened by the municipality, while others stayed with relatives, he said. He added that Israeli forces had begun demolishing structures in the area.

According to the military, troops are searching for weapons and people suspected of involvement in terrorism, as well as questioning suspects. Entry to and exit from Hebron and a nearby town have been blocked.

Meanwhile,

settlers continued to force Palestinian farmers off their land over the weekend. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported Saturday morning that settlers had attacked and wounded farmers west of Hebron. Palestinian media also reported attacks on olive pickers near a village south of Ramallah and on the outskirts of Sinjil, where settlers allegedly harassed farmers and forced them off their land.

The incidents followed reports in Palestinian media on Friday that

three new settler farms had been established in the West Bank in the wake of that day's shooting attack.

Read the original article on haaretz.com