250,000 Residents of Hebron Face Eviction Orders After Checkpoint Firefight

A siege has descended on Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others near a checkpoint. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the closure of Hebron and the neighboring town of Halhul, affecting approximately 250,000 residents. He declared that inhabitants of the gunmen's home neighborhoods would be forced out and that their homes would be demolished.

The first demolition began within hours of the attack. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right figure, posted a video of a bulldozer tearing down a Palestinian home near the site of the firefight. Smotrich stated that the unpermitted structure was removed to "create deterrence and exact a price," though no link was established between the building's owners and the attackers.

Israel's high court issued a temporary order halting the demolitions shortly after work began. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition on behalf of two nearby factory owners. Dahleh argued that the actions breached international law regarding collective punishment as well as Israeli administrative law. He described the events as an attempt to replicate illegal practices from Gaza in the heart of 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 served as a justification for such measures since antiquity.

Defence Minister Israel Katz promised further mass demolitions and forced displacement, explicitly comparing the situation to the Jenin refugee camp. Katz stated that nearly 20,000 people had been forced from their homes in Jenin. He declared that every clan neighborhood in Hebron from which terrorists emerged would be evacuated of its residents.

Netanyahu said plans were drawn up for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967. He indicated that no specific date had been set, but the operation was "on the way." The Israeli military reported that two men armed with an assault rifle and a handgun carried out the attack. They drove a car with Israeli number plates and opened fire after being stopped at the temporary checkpoint. Both gunmen were killed after a 20-minute gunfight.

An AFP photographer who witnessed the exchange described seeing two Palestinian men with a handgun and an automatic rifle firing at Israeli forces. Prominent Israelis, including a candidate for the far-right Amcha Yisrael party, later shared conspiracy theories linking the photographer to the gunmen. The Foreign Press Association called these claims "dangerous and defamatory," describing the photographer as a longtime professional. This incident occurred a week after settlers severely injured photographer Heidi Levine during the olive harvest.

Since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, the West Bank has seen a surge in settlement expansion and violence, with more than 1,100 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir traveled to Hebron on Friday to demand the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority. He also called for tighter limits on Palestinian movement as polls suggest the governing far-right coalition may lose its majority in Tuesday's elections.