Israel Locks Down Hebron, Displaces Thousands After Soldier Killings — SkimNews
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- Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on Hebron and detained at least 47 Palestinians, following a shooting attack that killed two soldiers and the two Palestinian suspects.
- Israeli forces forced about 2,500 Palestinians to flee Hebron, with nearly 500 families uprooted and dozens of homes demolished or converted into military posts.
- Hebron municipality reported that the Israeli military targeted a 350-dunam area in the Ein Deir Bahha neighborhood, conducting nighttime raids that displaced families without allowing them to take belongings.
- Hesham al-Sharbati, a human rights researcher, described the operation as a 'complete eviction campaign' amounting to ethnic cleansing and a war crime under international law.
- Ahmed Abu Qamar, an economic researcher, warned that restrictions on Hebron—accounting for 40% of Palestinian industrial output—will pressure the entire West Bank economy through disrupted supply chains and halted production.
- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich seized planning and construction powers over the Ibrahimi Mosque and H2 zone, effectively dismantling key provisions of the 1997 Hebron Agreement.
Why it matters: The operation disrupts a core economic hub and intensifies military control over 7,000 Palestinians in H2, while Smotrich’s seizure of authority undermines a foundational agreement, escalating both humanitarian and legal crises in the occupied West Bank.
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