Israel Seals 250,000-Strong Hebron After Checkpoint Shootout
Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered a siege and mass evictions after gunmen killed two soldiers and wounded three others near the city.
By Chioma Kim ·
Israel has sealed off Hebron and the neighboring town of Halhul following a fatal shootout that left two Israeli soldiers dead and three others wounded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the siege on Friday, stating that the operation represents the largest military campaign in the West Bank since 1967.
The conflict began when two men drove a vehicle with Israeli license plates to a temporary checkpoint outside Hebron. Soldiers stopped the car, prompting the occupants to open fire with an assault rifle and a handgun. The exchange lasted 20 minutes before both gunmen were killed. An AFP photographer witnessed the scene while en route to another assignment and captured images of the two men firing at Israeli forces.
Netanyahu declared that residents of the specific neighborhoods where the gunmen originated would be forced to leave their homes. He ordered mass demolitions of structures in those areas. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the plan, stating that every clan neighborhood from which the attackers emerged would be evacuated. Katz compared the operation to the treatment of the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have been displaced.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrived at the site hours after the shooting began. He posted a video showing himself in front of a bulldozer as it demolished a Palestinian home near the checkpoint. Smotrich described the structure as built without permits and said the destruction was intended to create deterrence and exact a price. No official link was established between the building's owners and the gunmen.
Legal challenges to the demolition campaign began immediately. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition with Israel's high court on behalf of two factory owners in the area. The court issued a temporary order halting the demolitions. Dahleh argued that the actions breached international law regarding collective punishment and Israeli administrative law. He described the move as an attempt to copy practices used in Gaza within the West Bank.
Michael Sfard, a prominent Israeli lawyer, characterized Smotrich's video as a direct admission that the demolitions constituted collective punishment. Sfard noted that deterrence has historically been used to justify such measures. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also visited Hebron on Friday, demanding tighter limits on Palestinian movement and the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority.
The incident has intensified scrutiny of the Israeli military press corps. A candidate for the far-right Amcha Yisrael party shared claims linking the AFP photographer to the gunmen. The Foreign Press Association responded that the claims were dangerous and defamatory. The association noted that the photographer is a longtime professional who documented events in accordance with his duties. This incident followed a similar event a week earlier in which settlers severely injured photographer Heidi Levine.
Hebron is the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, with approximately 250,000 residents. Since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, the West Bank has experienced increased settlement expansion and violence. More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers. Attacks have accelerated since the olive harvest began in late September. Polls indicate the governing far-right coalition may lose its parliamentary majority in Tuesday's elections.
Source: The Guardian
