Israeli Forces Plan to Displace 2,500 People in Hebron Operation, Mayor Says

Israeli forces have begun tearing into a West Bank city, and hundreds of families are already out of their homes.

Local officials say the military is demolishing houses and businesses in Hebron. Video posted online shows damage from bulldozers, and at least one street appears to have been leveled. The city of 200,000 residents is sealed off, which sharply limits how people can move around. The military did not immediately answer a request for comment on the destruction. It posted on social media that it has dozens of targets across the West Bank and that operations will continue for several days.

The campaign began Friday after two Israeli soldiers were killed at a checkpoint by two Palestinian gunmen, with three other soldiers hurt. Both gunmen were killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said buildings near the attack site, plus the neighborhoods the gunmen came from, would be destroyed. He said he has reviewed plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967, but did not say when it might happen. It is not clear if the Hebron operation is part of those plans.

Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari said the military is focused on two neighborhoods, Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa, and has hit homes, businesses, industrial sites and infrastructure. Dozens of families spent the night outdoors, some told to leave without their vehicles, while houses were marked for demolition with spray paint. He believes the military intends to displace 2,500 people from roughly 0.35 square km of urban land. The city's governor and deputy mayor say at least 200 families have been displaced.

Demolishing the homes of Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis is a common practice in the West Bank, and Israeli rights groups have criticized it as collective punishment. The Palestinian Authority has called for urgent international action that goes beyond condemnation to prevent more forced displacement.

The attack came four days before Israel's general election, and Netanyahu, whose campaign rests on a promise of security, canceled his party's campaign events for Friday morning. He traveled to Hebron wearing protective armor and posted a video from the scene. The mayor told reporters the operation was driven by the elections, with Netanyahu and his ministers trying to win votes from the far right and settlers.