Troops Bulldoze Hebron Blocks as Israeli Vote Nears

Israeli troops flattened urban blocks in Hebron this week and forced families into the streets, local Palestinian authorities said, describing the operation as payback for an attack on an army checkpoint outside the city.

The Hebron municipality put the damage at 35 hectares, or 86 acres, in the Ein Deir Baha district. By Saturday afternoon it counted about 1,500 people pushed out of their homes. The city of 250,000 residents was sealed afterward, with checkpoints at every entry point. A municipality spokesperson said about 300 families were evicted. The city opened community halls and children's play areas to house some of them; others stayed with friends and relatives. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israel plans to displace another 2,500 people.

The demolition followed Friday's gunfight at a checkpoint outside Hebron. Two gunmen opened fire, and the exchange lasted 20 minutes. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three were wounded. Both gunmen died. Ein Deir Baha was alleged to be their home district. Video from a Hebron resident showed soldiers spraying black crosses on Palestinian houses, a bulldozer pulling down a stone wall on a hillside, and a large residential building draped in Israeli flags. Residents said the building belonged to a prominent Hebron family and had been taken as a temporary military headquarters.

Israeli elections are set for four days from Oct. 24. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the checkpoint site and promised a fast response. Netanyahu said Israel would "act to destroy this place." Smotrich, who is running with a smaller coalition party, had himself filmed in body armour while a Palestinian building came down. He said he ordered "the immediate demolition of a wide row of illegal Arab structures adjacent to the attack site" and called for "a comprehensive military campaign" of the kind carried out in Gaza and Lebanon.

Issa Amro, a Hebron civil rights activist, said the operation targeted people unconnected to Friday's fight. "We are being collectively punished for something we neither did nor supported," he said. "Our suffering is being turned into political material for Israel's elections, while innocent families pay the price." He said his sister's family was among those driven out. In a phone interview, Amro said hundreds of families had left and had no link to the attack. "It's a very big area and we don't know what's going on, whether it is only election propaganda or if it's a serious plan from decisions on what to do after the election," he said. The Israeli army was approached for comment on the operations and on the videos showing the widespread destruction.