Israel displaces 1,500 Palestinians in Hebron, plans to remove 2,500 more

Mass displacement in Hebron

Israeli forces have ordered the evacuation of approximately 1,500 Palestinians from 250 families in the Deir Bahha and al-Jilda neighborhoods of Hebron since Friday, with the municipality warning that another 2,500 residents face imminent displacement. The evacuated homes were marked by soldiers who distributed notices instructing remaining families to leave without their vehicles, the municipality said in a statement issued Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the escalation during an incursion into the city on Friday, saying his forces would expand operations across the occupied West Bank. "We will do here what we have not done before. We will apply the successful offensive model we implemented in the refugee camps," he said, referring to previous military offensives conducted in northern West Bank camps.

Palestinian warnings

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry warned Saturday against inflammatory Israeli statements threatening to expand forced displacement across Hebron. The ministry described the measures as attempts to repeat the "Nakba" and carry out ethnic cleansing, adding that it had instructed Palestinian embassies and diplomatic missions to take urgent international action to pressure governments into adopting firm positions against Israeli practices in the occupied territory.

The Israeli army maintained its siege of Hebron for a second consecutive day Saturday, imposing a comprehensive closure on the city following an armed attack at a checkpoint. Two Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed in Friday's incident, while three other soldiers were wounded, according to Israeli figures, prompting the deployment of additional military vehicles and bulldozers alongside the blocking of main roads connecting Hebron to surrounding areas.

West Bank escalation

The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has witnessed escalating Israeli military attacks and settler violence since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023. These operations have included the killing and detention of Palestinians, the demolition of homes and structures, the burning of mosques and vehicles, the bulldozing of farmland, and the displacement of Palestinian communities alongside illegal settlement expansion.

Palestinian officials warn that such measures pave the way for Israel's formal annexation of the West Bank, undermining prospects for establishing a Palestinian state in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions. The Hebron municipality confirmed that the neighborhoods targeted for evacuation are home to 500 families, raising fears that the current displacements represent only the initial phase of a broader expulsion campaign.