Israeli troops level Hebron neighbourhood, forcing families from their homes

Israeli forces on Saturday continued razing the Ein Deir Baha district of Hebron, a West Bank city of 250,000 people. Local Palestinian authorities describe the operation as collective punishment for an armed attack on an Israeli army checkpoint outside the city. The Hebron municipality estimates that 35 hectares (86 acres) have been destroyed or marked for destruction, and that about 1,500 people had been evicted by Saturday afternoon. Every entry point to the city has been sealed with checkpoints.

The attack and the response

On Friday, two gunmen attacked an Israeli military checkpoint outside Hebron. After a 20-minute gunfight, two Israeli soldiers were dead, three were wounded and both gunmen were killed. The attack came four days before Israeli elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the extreme-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, went to the site and promised an immediate and fierce response. Netanyahu said Israel would “act to destroy this place”. Smotrich, who is standing for election with a smaller coalition party, had himself filmed in body armour in front of a Palestinian building being demolished. He said he had ordered the immediate demolition of a wide row of illegal Arab structures next to the attack site, and called for a comprehensive military campaign “exactly like in Gaza and Lebanon”. Ein Deir Baha, where the demolitions are focused, is alleged to be the home district of the two gunmen.

What residents and videos show

Videos sent by a Hebron resident show every house flattened across several urban blocks. One shows soldiers spraying black crosses on Palestinian homes, another a bulldozer tearing down a stone wall on a hillside, and another a large residential building decked with Israeli flags. People said it was the home of a prominent Hebron family, taken over as a temporary military headquarters.

A municipality spokesperson said about 300 families had been evicted. Some have taken shelter with friends and relatives, while the municipality has opened community halls and children’s play areas for others. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported Israeli plans to displace a further 2,500 people.

Hebron civil rights activist Issa Amro said residents were being punished for something they neither did nor supported, and that their suffering was being turned into political material for the election. He said his sister’s family was among those driven out, and that he did not know whether it was only election propaganda or a serious plan. The Israeli army was approached for comment on the operations and the videos.