Israel demolishes gunmen's homes in West Bank operation that has displaced thousands

JERUSALEM, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Israel demolished on Friday the homes of the assailants who killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron last week, part of an ongoing operation that has forcibly displaced over 3,000 Palestinians. After the October 23 attack, in which both gunmen were killed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to launch a in areas near the checkpoint, triggering protests by Palestinian residents.

Palestinian officials have accused Netanyahu of using the operation to drum up support ahead of a general election in Israel on Tuesday. Israel's government says its operation is a response to the attack on its soldiers. In a statement announcing the demolitions, Israel's military said it would "continue to operate proactively and offensively" to thwart attacks in the West Bank and "protect residents in the area". The homes demolished on Friday had been occupied by the wives and children of the gunmen before the military forced Palestinians to leave the area over the past week, according to local residents.

The military has also demolished other homes as well as shops, roads, and factories in Hebron since the attack, according to local officials, though the exact scale of the demolitions is unclear. It has closed most entrances to the city, severely curtailing freedom of movement for Palestinians, including people in need of medical attention. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said this week that the displacement of residents raised "grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" and that "threats to empty and erase entire neighbourhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing."

Netanyahu's government has presided over a rapid expansion of settlements, deemed illegal by UN bodies and ​most countries, though ⁠Israel disputes this. Under Netanyahu's ​right-wing coalition there has also been a surge of militant settler violence against Palestinians. In Kafr Malik near Ramallah on Friday, Reuters witnesses documented militant Israeli settlers shoving Palestinians and preventing farmers from harvesting their olives, while the Israeli military was present.

The Israeli military said it had responded to reports from Israeli settlers that Palestinians were throwing stones at them, and had arrested two Palestinians. It did not address the reports of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians. A Reuters witness present during the incident did not observe the Palestinians throwing stones. Attacks have surged during the Palestinian olive harvest, which starts at the end of September and ends in November.

The Israeli rights group Yesh Din reported at least 135 physical attacks on the olive harvest as of October 23. (Reporting by Pesha Magid, Mamoun Wazwaz, and Amar Awad; Editing by Aidan Lewis)