“For the first time, I saw in Hebron hundreds of citizens, elderly men, women,and children leaving their homes and wandering aimlessly in the streets,” Al-Khalil (Hebron) Mayor Yousef Al-Jabari said,reporting that the Israeli army had displaced over 2,000 Palestinians in the southern West Bank city over the past two days.
According to Al-Jabari, Israeli soldiers ordered the evacuation of 495 homes across two neighbourhoods situated roughly six kilometres from the site of a deadly Friday shooting. He stated that troops continue to raid homes in these areas,searching for residents who have not yet left and forcibly evicting them.
The mass displacement follows an armed attack on an Israeli military checkpoint in Hebron on Friday, which resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers and the wounding of several others. The Israeli military killed the two local attackers during the incident.
Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside the ministers of defence, settlement, finance,and national security, visited the site. In videos that appeared directed at the Israeli public ahead of Tuesday’s general elections, the officials promised retaliatory measures against Al-Khalil residents, including the demolition of homes and commercial facilities, as well as widespread closures.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video of himself standing in front of a large bulldozer, stating that “demolitions in Al-Khalil have begun in response to the armed attack.” Other ministers subsequently shared footage of bulldozers destroying homes and facilities, describing the actions as the optimal response to Palestinian attacks.
The Israeli military has since completely sealed off Al-Khalil, deploying hundreds of military vehicles throughout the city.Al-Jabari alleged that soldiers deliberately damaged the city’s infrastructure, bulldozing streets near the site of the attack and destroying water, electricity, and sewage networks.
“What is happening in Al-Khalil is a process of revenge against citizens for something they had no part in, and many of these measures are directed at the Israeli voter,” the mayor said.
The severe measures in Al-Khalil have sparked debate among Palestinians on social media and news outlets regarding the effectiveness of armed resistance, given the Israeli government’s policy of displacement and destruction in response to attacks since October 7, 2023. Reports from international and Israeli human rights organisations indicate the Israeli army has previously displaced 35,000 residents from the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams camps following armed activity.While some commentators argue the attacks are a natural response to Israeli policies of settlement and displacement,others contend that military action no longer serves Palestinian interests as it is used to justify the eviction of citizens from their homes.
