Hebron Demolition: 1,500 Residents Evicted Ahead of Vote

Approximately 1,500 residents of the West Bank city of Hebron lost their homes on Saturday as Israeli military forces cleared the Ein Deir Baha district. Local authorities stated that the operation followed a militant attack on an army checkpoint, which they described as an act of collective punishment. The city, home to 250,000 people, was sealed off with checkpoints established at every point of entry.

The Hebron municipality estimated that 35 hectares, or 86 acres, of the district were destroyed or marked for demolition. A spokesperson for the municipality reported that roughly 300 families were evicted. Some residents stayed with friends or relatives, while others were housed in community halls and children's play areas provided by the city. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israel plans to displace another 2,500 people in the coming days.

The destruction began after two gunmen attacked an Israeli military checkpoint outside Hebron on Friday. During a 20-minute gunfight, two Israeli soldiers were killed and three were wounded. Both attackers were also killed. Authorities alleged that the Ein Deir Baha district, where the demolitions took place, was the home district of the gunmen.

Video footage shared by a Hebron resident showed extensive damage across several urban blocks. One clip captured soldiers marking Palestinian houses with black crosses. Another showed a bulldozer demolishing a stone wall on a hillside. A third video featured a large residential building draped in Israeli flags. Residents identified the building as belonging to a prominent Hebron family and said it had been converted into a temporary military headquarters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the checkpoint site to promise a fierce response. Netanyahu stated that Israel would "act to destroy this place." Smotrich, who is running for election with a smaller coalition party, was filmed in body armor while standing in front of a demolished structure. He said he ordered "the immediate demolition of a wide row of illegal Arab structures adjacent to the attack site" and called for a comprehensive military campaign similar to operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Issa Amro, a civil rights activist in Hebron, said his sister's family was among those displaced. He described the operation as political material for the upcoming election. Amro noted that hundreds of families had no connection to the Friday attack. He questioned whether the demolition was purely propaganda or part of a longer-term plan, saying, "We are being collectively punished for something we neither did nor supported."

Israeli elections are scheduled to take place in four days. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the scope of the operations or the video evidence of the destruction.