Bulldozers Flatten Hebron Homes as Netanyahu Promises Major West Bank Campaign
Demolitions began Friday after two soldiers were killed at a checkpoint, with the prime minister linking the operation to the October 27 national election.
By Adewale Rousseau ·
Israeli forces began demolishing homes in Hebron on Friday afternoon following an attack that killed two soldiers and injured three others at a nearby checkpoint.
The military confirmed that soldiers were positioned behind concrete barriers when two gunmen opened fire. The exchange of gunfire continued for approximately 20 minutes until troops eliminated the attackers. In the wake of the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised address from the scene. He pledged a military operation in the West Bank of a scale not seen since the Six Day War, which marked Israel's initial occupation of the territory nearly 60 years ago.
Netanyahu stated that the goal is to demolish the area and change it completely. He compared the upcoming campaign to last year's assault on two Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank, an action that displaced tens of thousands of residents. Human Rights Watch characterized those expulsions as war crimes, a designation Israel has consistently rejected.
B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, called on foreign governments to intervene to prevent another wave of ethnic cleansing. The group emphasized the need to stop what it described as further war crimes. The United Nations Human Rights Office for the occupied Palestinian territory has described the current environment as a new level of dehumanization of Palestinians. Israel has enforced widespread closures in Hebron, the most populous city in the occupied West Bank, restricting movement in and around the city.
Analysts link the magnitude of the response to the national elections scheduled for October 27. Current polls indicate that Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, are running neck and neck, with neither possessing sufficient support to form a government. Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, argued that Netanyahu is positioning himself as the protector of Israel to appeal to voters. He described the eviction of families from the attackers' neighborhood without evidence linking them to the gunmen as collective punishment.
Citrinowicz urged authorities to focus on arresting those intent on carrying out attacks while supporting the broader population. He suggested that providing hope through a working economy and stability is a more effective method of preventing future attacks than imposing harsh measures. Israel maintains 925 checkpoints, roadblocks, and other barriers across the territory to control movement.
Source: NPR
