The Israeli military forced around 1,200 Palestinians to leave their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said yesterday (24 October), a day after a Palestinian attack killed two Israeli soldiers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the military would launch a large-scale operation after the soldiers were killed when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint near the city. 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 military checkpoint at the entrance to Hebron was aimed at searching for militants and weapons. In a statement, it also said the military would carry out demolitions.
The Palestinian Authority criticised the operation as "collective punishment".
Yousef Zouhair Al-Jabari, the head of Hebron's municipality, said around 1,300 people faced losing their homes in addition to the 1,200 already displaced.
He also said the Israeli operations were motivated by parliamentary elections on Tuesday, when Netanyahu's right-wing coalition could lose its majority, according to opinion polls.
"Netanyahu and the radical ministers in his government are trying to win as many votes as possible from the settlers," Al-Jabari said.
The non-governmental organisation the Palestinian Prisoners' Club said Israeli forces had arrested around 70 Palestinians on Friday and Saturday. Israeli officials have not commented on any arrests.
Netanyahu's government has presided over expansion of settlements
Al-Jabari said the military had demolished shops, factories, homes and roads in Hebron, adding that the response was disproportionate and unjustified.
Residents in Hebron told Reuters that the military had expelled many people with no connection to the Palestinian attackers.
"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 driven from his home.
Residents told Reuters they had seen Israeli soldiers marking homes with a black X after their Palestinian occupants had been forced to leave. It was not immediately clear what the X mark meant.
Netanyahu's government has presided over a rapid expansion of settlements, deemed illegal by UN bodies and most countries, although Israel disputes this.
Across the West Bank, Israel has blocked the entrances to most Palestinian cities and towns, severely curtailing Palestinians' freedom of movement.
Yousef Mur, a resident of the Palestinian town of Yatta, said the closures meant he was unable to reach Jerusalem with his daughter for her cancer treatment.
"The situation is bad, and we are suffering. When we tried to cross, they fired stun grenades towards us, and my girl got scared on the way. They fired stun grenades towards people. The situation is very difficult," Mur said.