Hebron Residents Face Eviction Orders and Home Demolitions

Residents of Hebron and the neighboring town of Halhul will face a military siege and forced evictions in the coming days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced these measures on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a firefight near a checkpoint outside the city.

The government declared that all residents living in the specific neighborhoods where the gunmen originated must be moved out. Netanyahu stated that plans are being drawn up for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967. He said a specific start date has not been set, but the operation is on the way.

Demolition crews began tearing down Palestinian homes within hours of the shooting. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video showing himself standing in front of a bulldozer as it destroyed a structure near the scene. He explained that the building had been constructed without permits and that the demolition was intended to create deterrence and exact a price. No official link was claimed between the home owners and the attackers.

Israel Katz, the defence minister, promised further displacements and demolitions. He compared the treatment of Hebron to the situation in the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have been forced from their homes. Katz stated that every clan neighborhood from which the terrorists emerged would be evacuated of its residents.

The Israeli military reported that two men armed with an assault rifle and a handgun carried out the attack. They were driving a car with Israeli number plates and opened fire after soldiers stopped them at a temporary checkpoint. A gunfight lasting 20 minutes ended with both gunmen killed.

Legal challenges to the new measures began immediately. The Israeli high court issued a temporary order halting the demolitions. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition on behalf of two nearby factory owners. He argued that the actions breached international law regarding collective punishment as well as Israeli administrative law. Dahleh said the move was an attempt to copy practices used in Gaza in the heart of the West Bank.

Michael Sfard, a leading Israeli lawyer, described Smotrich's video as a direct admission that the demolitions amounted to collective punishment. He noted that deterrence has been used as a justification for such punishment since antiquity.

The incident occurred as the governing far-right coalition prepares for Tuesday's elections. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir travelled to Hebron on Friday and demanded the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and tighter limits on Palestinian movement. Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, with about 250,000 residents.

A week after the olive harvest began in late September, attacks against Palestinians have intensified. More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023. Polls suggest the governing coalition may lose its majority in Tuesday's vote.