Hebron Sealed as Israeli Forces Displace 2,000 Residents

Israeli forces sealed off Hebron, the largest city in the West Bank, and displaced nearly 2,000 residents from their homes following a gun attack at a military checkpoint. The operation began on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were killed at the site. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the city on Friday and promised swift retribution. Netanyahu warned of military operations on a scale not seen in the West Bank during the nearly 60 years of occupation.

The Hebron municipality reported that 370 families were displaced by the army's sweep through the Ein Deir Baha neighborhood. The Israeli army stated that residents left voluntarily and that civilians were permitted to evacuate temporarily. Fahed Ahmaro, an imam in the district, rejected the army's account. He said he was woken around midnight by loudspeakers on patrolling vehicles ordering homeowners to leave immediately. Ahmaro said the army blew up the gates of his house while he was returning to collect belongings.

Abdul Halim al-Tamimi, 77, said military personnel arrived at his home at 1:30 a.m. and gave his family 10 minutes to leave. He reported that an intelligence officer warned the family they would be displaced as in Gaza if they refused. The family left at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday. By Sunday morning, the villa was draped in Israeli flags and used as an army headquarters.

The army said approximately 2,000 local residents belonged to the Jaba'a clan, from which the gunmen were allegedly drawn. The military described the clan as associated with Hamas. Residents of Ein Deir Baha disputed the figure, saying the clan numbers at most 150 people. Al-Tamimi said his family belongs to a different clan and suggested the operation served election publicity.

The city of 250,000 people was sealed off within hours of the attack. The Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood, closest to the attack site, was flattened. By Sunday morning, rubble remained in an industrial area that previously held car workshops and a ceramics plant. All roads in and out of the city remained closed to cars behind steel barriers on Sunday evening, allowing only pedestrians to move through.

Yousef al-Jabari, the mayor of Hebron, called the measures collective punishment. He said people were dragged from their homes and media were kept out of the district. Delivery truck driver Wasam Sadi arrived at a checkpoint with a smashed windshield, saying settlers had attacked him at a nearby junction. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cannot vote in Tuesday's election, but the outcome may affect their lives.