Hebron Evictions: 2,000 Residents Displaced After Checkpoint Attack

The largest city in the West Bank has become a central battleground in Israel’s upcoming election, with nearly 2,000 residents forced from their homes following a deadly shooting. The displacement began on Friday after two Israeli soldiers were killed at a military checkpoint. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the site on television, promising swift retribution. They warned of military operations on a scale unseen in nearly 60 years of occupation.

Within hours of the attack, the city of 250,000 people was sealed off. The Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood, located closest to the checkpoint, was flattened. By Sunday morning, bulldozers had reduced an industrial area containing car workshops and a ceramics plant to rubble. In a separate district called Ein Deir Baha, military forces emptied the streets. The army stated that at least one of the attackers, both of whom were killed at the scene, was from this neighborhood.

Fahed Ahmaro, the imam of the local mosque, described being woken at midnight by loudspeakers on military vehicles. The orders told homeowners to leave immediately for their safety. Ahmaro, whose thirty-person family lived in his home, took his frail mother and grandchildren to a relative’s house. When he returned to collect belongings, a neighbor warned him that the army had blown up his gates. On Sunday, Ahmaro was buying clothes at a market, uncertain how long his family would be away from their home.

The Hebron municipality reported that 370 families were displaced by the sweep through Ein Deir Baha. The Israeli army said residents left voluntarily and that civilians were permitted to evacuate temporarily. Ahmaro rejected this account. He told reporters, "Never, never, never. Why should I leave my house?" Abdul Halim al-Tamimi, 77, said military officers arrived at 1:30 a.m. and gave his family ten minutes to leave. He claimed an intelligence officer warned that if they refused, they would be displaced in the same manner as in Gaza.

Al-Tamimi’s family stood outside until three military vehicles confronted them. They were forced out at 3 a.m. on Saturday. By Sunday morning, their villa was draped in Israeli flags and served as a temporary army headquarters. The army stated that about 2,000 locals belonged to the Jaba'a clan, which it described as associated with Hamas. Residents of the district argued the clan numbers only 150 people and has no known reputation for radicalism. Al-Tamimi said his family is from a different clan and suggested the operation served election publicity.

By Sunday evening, all roads in and out of Hebron remained closed to cars behind heavy steel barriers. Only pedestrians could move through the city. Delivery driver Wasam Sadi arrived at a checkpoint with a smashed windshield and glass in his eyes. He said settlers had attacked him at a nearby junction. Mayor Yousef al-Jabari called the measures collective punishment. He said people were dragged from their homes and media were kept out of the district.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cannot vote in Tuesday’s election. However, the outcome of the vote could deeply affect their daily lives. The ruling coalition is currently narrowly trailing in polls, with two days of campaigning remaining.