2,200 Palestinians forced to leave Hebron

The Israeli military forced around 2,200 Palestinians to leave their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said yesterday, a day after a Palestinian attack killed two Israeli soldiers.

A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said 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.

They also said the operation in the Al-Jaladah and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods near the military checkpoint at the entrance of Hebron was to search for militants and weapons. In a statement, it also said the military would carry out demolitions.

The Palestinian Authority criticised the operation as a “collective punishment”.

Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari told Al Jazeera that around 2,200 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the city’s al-Jalda and Ein Deir Bahha neighbourhoods, as Israeli forces continue military operation in the occupied West Bank.

He also said the Israeli operations were motivated by parliamentary elections on Tuesday when Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition may lose his majority, opinion polls show.

“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.

Al-Jabari said the military had demolished shops, factories, homes, and roads in Hebron and that the response was disproportionate and unjustified.

Residents in Hebron told Reuters that the military 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 saw 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, though 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.

Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, 70, a shopkeeper who sells live chickens and feed and plays a leadership role in Ein Deir Baha, said he was awakened at 1:00am by soldiers and a senior officer who said he had to leave.

“I asked them how long the evacuation would last. They said: ‘Until further notice.’”

He told AFP he had only short time to pack, adding that for some residents, getting out of the neighbourhood was an ordeal.

“For example, my wife’s mother, who is 90 years old and lives in the area, had to be carried out because she is ill,” he said.