Netanyahu Orders Hebron Demolitions Days Before Israeli Vote
The operation targets two neighborhoods and would displace 2,500 residents from 0.35 square km of urban land.
By Adewale Fletcher ·
Israeli bulldozers began leveling homes and businesses in Hebron on Friday, a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered four days before Israel's general election. The army has sealed the city, restricting movement for its 200,000 residents, and posted online that it has dozens of targets across the West Bank. Operations are set to continue for several days.
The operation followed an attack on a checkpoint in which two Israeli soldiers were killed by two Palestinian gunmen. Three other soldiers were wounded, and both gunmen were killed. Netanyahu said buildings near the attack site and the neighborhoods the gunmen came from would be "destroyed".
Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari said the army has focused on Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa, hitting homes, businesses, industrial sites and infrastructure. Dozens of families spent Friday night outdoors, some told to leave without their vehicles. Houses in the two areas have been marked for demolition with spray paint.
Al-Jaabari estimates the military intends to displace 2,500 people from roughly 0.35 square km of urban land. The city's governor and deputy mayor put the number of displaced families at 200 or more.
Netanyahu canceled his party's campaign events for Friday morning, traveled to Hebron in protective armor and posted a video from the scene. "We will evacuate the residents, go house to house, remove the weapons we find there, and deal with and destroy all terrorist infrastructure," he said.
Al-Jaabari told journalists the operation was "driven by the elections" and that Netanyahu and his ministers were seeking votes from the far right and settlers. The Palestinian Authority called for "urgent international action that went beyond condemnation" to prevent further forced displacement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged a campaign in the West Bank "exactly like in Gaza or Lebanon", while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu said he had reviewed plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967 and did not say when it might happen. It is unclear whether the Hebron operation is part of those plans.
