Israeli Forces Evict Hebron Families as Netanyahu Vows Large-Scale West Bank Operation
The demolition of homes near Hebron follows a 20-minute firefight at a checkpoint that killed two soldiers and wounded three others.
By Imani Donovan ·
Bulldozers began leveling homes in a neighborhood near Hebron on Friday afternoon, forcing hundreds of Palestinians from their residences. The demolitions followed an exchange of fire at an Israeli checkpoint that left two soldiers dead and three others wounded. Widespread closures imposed by Israel have already made movement in and around Hebron, the most populous city in the occupied West Bank, difficult.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would launch an operation in the West Bank "on a scale not seen since the Six Day War," referring to the 1967 conflict. Speaking from the checkpoint site, he said, "We will act to demolish this place, to change it completely." The military said soldiers were positioned behind concrete barriers when two gunmen opened fire, and a firefight lasting about 20 minutes ended when troops killed the attackers.
The Israeli military told NPR its account of the firefight at the checkpoint. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem urged foreign governments to intervene to prevent what it called "another wave of ethnic cleansing and war crimes." Netanyahu compared the planned operation to last year's assault on two refugee camps in the northern West Bank, which displaced tens of thousands. Human Rights Watch said those expulsions amounted to war crimes, a charge Israel rejects.
Analysts have linked the timing of the operation to national elections scheduled for October 27. Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said Netanyahu needs to project strength before the vote. "For Netanyahu, his ticket before the election is, 'I'm Mr. Security,'" Citrinowicz said, adding that harsh measures are how Netanyahu shows "he's defending them."
Citrinowicz also described the eviction of families from the attackers' neighborhood, absent evidence tying them to the gunmen, as "collective punishment." Polls currently show Netanyahu running neck and neck with his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, with neither holding enough support to form a government. The United Nations Human Rights Office for the occupied Palestinian territory has described the current situation as a "new level of dehumanization of Palestinians." Israel maintains some 925 checkpoints, roadblocks, earth mounds and other barriers across the territory.
Source: NPR
