The Israeli military has displaced about 1,200 Palestinians in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, as it launched a large-scale operation following an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, a Palestinian official said on Saturday..
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that the military would begin the operation after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint near Hebron. The Israeli military said the gunmen were shot dead.
The military said the operation in the Al-Jaladah and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods, near the checkpoint at the entrance to Hebron, was aimed at searching for militants and weapons. It also announced plans to demolish buildings.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the operation as “collective punishment”.
Yousef Zouhair Al-Jabari, head of Hebron’s municipality, said about 1,300 additional people faced the loss of their homes, in addition to the 1,200 already displaced.
Al-Jabari accused Netanyahu and members of his government of using the operation to gain political support ahead of parliamentary elections on Tuesday. Opinion polls suggest Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition could lose its majority.
“Netanyahu and the radical ministers in his government are trying to win as many votes as possible from the settlers,” Al-Jabari said.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, a non-governmental organisation, said Israeli forces had arrested about 70 Palestinians on Friday and Saturday. Israeli officials had not commented on the reported arrests.
Al-Jabari said Israeli forces had demolished shops, factories, homes and roads in Hebron, describing the actions as disproportionate and unjustified.
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Residents told Reuters that many people forced from their homes had no connection to the Palestinian gunmen involved in the attack.
“We are calling on officials to stand by us because we are not involved in any of this. There are children. We are isolated; we don’t do anything. This is all arbitrary,” said Majdi Nasser, one of those displaced.
Residents also said they had seen Israeli soldiers marking homes with a black X after forcing their Palestinian occupants to leave. The purpose of the markings was not immediately clear.
Netanyahu’s government has overseen an expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the United Nations and most countries consider illegal. Israel disputes this position.
Meanwhile, Israeli restrictions on movement across the West Bank have blocked entrances to most Palestinian cities and towns, severely limiting residents’ ability to travel.
