Israel Intensifies Displacement Campaign in Hebron Amid Expanded West Bank Military Operation

More than 3,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron as Israeli forces expand a sweeping military operation that human rights experts describe as a systematic effort to permanently displace the Palestinian population.

The Israeli army has imposed a citywide lockdown and detained at least 71 people over the past four days, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin said a total of 488 families—3,171 individuals—had been displaced across the governorate, while Mayor Yousef al‑Jabari reported that 3,043 of those forced from their homes were from within Hebron city limits.

Concurrently, the military continues demolishing residential buildings, factories and roads, while blocking streets, raiding homes and assaulting civilians.

The crackdown began on Friday after two soldiers were killed near the city. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the action as an operation “unseen” since the 1967 war.

The operation follows rising tensions across the West Bank, where Israeli settlers and soldiers have been involved in violent clashes. Attacks on olive harvesters have surged ahead of Israel’s general election on Tuesday, in which Netanyahu seeks re‑election.

Forced Mass Displacements

Municipal authorities in Hebron say the majority of those displaced are women, children and elderly individuals.

Israeli soldiers have repurposed dozens of homes belonging to uprooted families into military barracks and field interrogation centres.

“The measures taken in Hebron go far beyond temporary evacuation or deportation,” said Noman Amr, a professor of contemporary history at al‑Quds Open University. He explained that evictions fall into three categories: demolition, revenge and collective punishment, and military use.

Amr added that the tactics are intended to create panic and instability. He quoted soldiers telling residents, “You will return to your homes on Judgment Day,” and described the broader aim as “imposing a new reality … more land, fewer Arabs.”

The Jenin Model

Israeli officials have linked the Hebron operation to the “Jenin camp model.” Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz announced plans to apply that approach, which includes forced evacuations, home inspections, weapon confiscations and road demolitions.

Rights groups compare the current campaign to the 2025 “Iron Wall” operation in Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps, which resulted in at least 102 deaths, displaced over 33,000 people and destroyed more than half of residential structures.

Katz previously described the Jenin tactics as “the first lesson from repeated raids in Gaza,” where a three‑year war has killed more than 74,000 people and left most of the territory in ruins.

UNRWA reported that Jenin camp became “nearly uninhabitable.” A recent UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) report warned that actions in the three camps “appear to amount to collective punishment and raise concerns of ethnic cleansing.” Displaced Palestinians said Israeli officers told them there would be “no more refugee camps” and they should “all go to Jordan.”

Israeli forces killed at least 21 children, including a 10‑year‑old boy shot while waiting for his father and a two‑year‑old girl killed during dinner with family.

Demolishing Infrastructure

Analysts note a systematic destruction of vital infrastructure aimed at cementing the displacement.

“Targeting water wells exceeds material value; it attacks existence, stability and continuity,” said Amr.

He also highlighted the collaboration between the Israeli army and armed settler groups. Hebron and other areas now have a settler militia of more than 150,000 heavily armed individuals, sometimes wearing army uniforms.

“The army closes areas, empties and demolishes homes, and blocks roads while settlers launch repeated attacks on residents, released prisoners and commercial interests,” Amr observed.

Administrative land grabs accompany this violence. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC) reported 220 new barriers erected across Hebron, severing Palestinian communities from their lands while preserving settlement connectivity. The barriers are part of a broader network of outposts expanding control between settlements and encircling Palestinian growth.

On Sunday, the Israeli army announced a ban on Palestinian workers entering most West Bank areas through Monday and a full closure of crossings for Tuesday, the election day.

Mayor al‑Jabari accused Netanyahu’s hard‑right government of using the military operation to shore up settler votes.

Amr echoed the sentiment: “Palestinians pay the price for right‑wing electoral propaganda.” He added, “They want to correct the history that allowed Palestinians to stay after 1967 or even after the 1948 Nakba.”

Source link