Hebron Homes Slated for Bulldozers as Israel Orders 250,000 Out
The first demolition began hours after two soldiers were killed, then a court paused the work.
By Amina Kaminski ·
A court order halted the first house teardown within hours of its start.
The sequence began near a temporary checkpoint outside Hebron on Friday, when two men in a car with Israeli plates were stopped by soldiers and opened fire with an assault rifle and a handgun, according to the Israeli military. A gunfight lasting 20 minutes killed both men. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then announced a siege on Hebron and the neighbouring town of Halhul, and said residents of the gunmen's home neighbourhoods would be forced out.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right figure, posted a video of himself standing in front of a bulldozer as it tore down a Palestinian home near the site of the firefight. He said the building lacked permits and that the demolition was meant to "create deterrence and exact a price". No link was claimed between the owners and the attackers. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition for two nearby factory owners, arguing the work breached international law on collective punishment as well as Israeli administrative law, and Israel's high court issued a temporary order stopping the demolitions.
Defence Minister Israel Katz promised more mass demolitions and forced displacement. He said every clan neighbourhood in Hebron "from which the terrorists emerged today will be evacuated of its residents", and compared the plan to the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have been forced from their homes. Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, has about 250,000 residents. Netanyahu said plans were drawn up for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967, with no date set, "but it is on the way".
An AFP photographer witnessed the exchange of fire. Prominent Israelis, including a candidate for the far-right Amcha Yisrael party, then circulated conspiracy theories about the photographer's role in it. The Foreign Press Association called the claims "dangerous and defamatory" and described the photographer as a longtime professional. The episode came a week after settlers severely injured photographer Heidi Levine while she documented attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives.
Since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023, more than 1,100 people have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank, and attacks have intensified since the olive harvest began in late September. Polls suggest the governing far-right coalition, which backs settlers, may lose its majority in Tuesday's elections. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir travelled to Hebron on Friday and called for the Palestinian Authority to be dismantled and for tighter limits on Palestinian movement.
