Israeli rights group warns of 'ethnic cleansing' in Hebron

Rights group warning

B'Tselem said Saturday that Israel is extending its "ethnic cleansing" campaign to the West Bank city of Hebron, with plans for mass displacement and destruction already being put into action. The Israeli rights group urged governments and international institutions to use all means available under international law to prevent the forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians, collective punishment, and extensive unlawful destruction, stressing that such actions threaten to empty and erase Palestinian neighborhoods.

Netanyahu announces 'refugee camp model'

Following a shooting near Hebron on Friday that killed two Israeli soldiers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced plans to forcibly displace Palestinian residents and carry out extensive destruction, said B'Tselem. "We will apply in the cities the successful offensive model we implemented in the refugee camps," Netanyahu said. "Israeli leaders are openly declaring their intentions, and actions on the ground have already begun," the group added.

Displacement and settlement expansion

That model has already displaced more than 33,000 Palestinians in the northern West Bank, said the group, warning that Israeli leaders are threatening to bring the same mass displacement and destruction to Hebron while Israeli forces have cordoned off the city and nearby Halhul. The Civil Administration has begun demolishing Palestinian structures in the Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced four new settlement farming outposts in the South Hebron Hills, which B'Tselem warned could constitute war crimes echoing Israel's devastating operations during its multi-year assault on the Gaza Strip.

Siege enters second day

The statement came as the Israeli army continued its siege of Hebron for a second day, forcing dozens of Palestinians from their homes, demolishing a residential building and other structures, and raiding homes. "The world cannot stand by as Israel continues its assault on Palestinians, waiting for yet more neighborhoods to be emptied and erased before intervening," B'Tselem said, noting that the closure followed the shooting in which two Palestinians were also killed and three other soldiers were wounded, according to Israeli figures.