Hebron Crisis: Israel Orders Sieges and Demolitions Following Fatal Checkpoint Attack

Israel has initiated a coordinated campaign of collective punishment in Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank.

The action follows a shooting incident near a checkpoint outside the city that left two Israeli soldiers dead and three others wounded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a siege on Hebron and the neighboring town of Halhul. He stated that residents of the neighborhoods where the gunmen originated would be forced to leave their homes. The government also promised widespread demolitions of Palestinian structures.

The first destruction began immediately after the attack. Ministers campaigning for the elections scheduled for Tuesday rushed to the scene of the firefight. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a prominent far-right figure, recorded a video standing before a bulldozer as it dismantled a nearby home. Smotrich explained that the structure had been built without permits. He stated the demolition was intended to create deterrence and impose a cost on the population. No connection was established between the building owners and the attackers.

Legal challenges emerged quickly after the work commenced. Israel's high court issued a temporary order to stop the demolitions. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed the urgent petition on behalf of two nearby factory owners. He argued the action violated international laws regarding collective punishment as well as Israeli administrative law. Dahleh described the move as an attempt to replicate illegal practices previously used in Gaza, now applied to the heart of the West Bank.

Michael Sfard, a leading 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. Defence Minister Israel Katz pledged further mass demolitions and forced displacements. He explicitly compared the situation in Hebron to the treatment of the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have been displaced. Katz stated that every clan neighborhood from which the terrorists emerged would be evacuated of its residents.

Netanyahu said plans are underway for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967. He confirmed that no specific date has been set for the operation, but noted that it is on the way. The Israeli military reported that two men carrying an assault rifle and a handgun carried out the attack. They were driving a vehicle with Israeli number plates. Soldiers stopped the car at a temporary checkpoint, where the men opened fire. Both gunmen were killed after a 20 minute exchange.

An AFP photographer witnessed the exchange while traveling to another assignment. The photographer observed two Palestinian men firing a handgun and an automatic rifle 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 expressed alarm at these claims, calling them dangerous and defamatory. The association described the photographer as a longtime professional who documented events in accordance with his duties. This incident occurred one week after settlers severely injured photographer Heidi Levine while she covered olive harvest attacks.

The occupied West Bank has experienced a surge in settlement expansion and violence since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023. More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers during this period. Attacks have intensified since the olive harvest began in late September. Polls suggest the governing far-right coalition, which supports settlers, may lose its parliamentary majority in Tuesday's elections. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir traveled to Hebron on Friday. He demanded the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and tighter restrictions on Palestinian movement.