Israel Orders Hebron Siege and Evictions After Checkpoint Attack

Israel initiated a military blockade of Hebron and the adjacent town of Halhul following a fatal shooting at a checkpoint outside the city.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the siege and ordered the evacuation of residents from the neighborhoods where the attackers lived. He also commanded the mass demolition of homes in those areas. The first demolition began within hours of the incident, while ministers campaigned for the upcoming Tuesday elections.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recorded video of a bulldozer destroying an unpermitted Palestinian home near the shooting site. He stated that the action was intended to create deterrence and impose a price on the residents. Officials did not claim a connection between the home’s owners and the gunmen.

The Israeli High Court issued a temporary injunction to stop the demolitions shortly after work commenced. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed the urgent petition on behalf of two factory owners. He argued that the measures violated international and Israeli laws regarding collective punishment. Dahleh described the events as an attempt to replicate illegal practices from Gaza in the West Bank.

Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer, characterized Smotrich’s video as a direct admission that the demolitions constituted collective punishment. He noted that deterrence has historically served as a justification for such actions.

Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed plans for further displacement and demolition. He compared the treatment of Hebron to that of the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. Katz stated that every clan neighborhood from which terrorists emerged would be evacuated. Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, with a population of approximately 250,000.

Netanyahu indicated that plans are being drawn up for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967. He said no date has been set, but the operation is underway.

The Israeli military reported that two men armed with an assault rifle and a handgun carried out the attack. They drove a vehicle with Israeli license plates and fired at soldiers who stopped them at a temporary checkpoint. Both attackers died during a 20-minute gunfight. An AFP photographer witnessed the exchange and later faced conspiracy theories linking him to the gunmen. The Foreign Press Association called the claims dangerous and defamatory.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited Hebron on Friday. He demanded the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and stricter limits on Palestinian movement. Since October 2023, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank. Violence has increased since the olive harvest began in late September.