3,171 residents displaced as Hebron enters fourth day of military lockdown
Israeli forces have converted dozens of Palestinian homes into barracks while demolishing roads and wells ahead of Tuesday's general election.
By Javier Sanders ·
The Israeli army has forced 3,171 Palestinians out of their homes in the occupied city of Hebron over the past four days. Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin confirmed the figure on Monday, noting that 488 families have been displaced across the wider governorate. Mayor Yousef al-Jabari specified that 3,043 of those individuals live within the city limits themselves. A full lockdown has been imposed on the area, and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reports that at least 71 people have been detained since the operation began.
The military campaign started on Friday following a shooting incident that killed two Israeli soldiers near the city. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the response as an operation unseen since the 1967 war. Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the army intends to apply the Jenin camp model to Hebron, a tactic involving forced evacuations, home inspections, and the bulldozing of roads. This approach mirrors the Iron Wall operation in early 2025, which displaced more than 33,000 people in the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarem refugee camps.
Soldiers have systematically converted dozens of uprooted families' homes into military barracks and field interrogation centres. The military has also launched a demolition campaign targeting residential buildings, factories, and roads. Noman Amr, a history professor at al-Quds Open University, said the measures go beyond temporary evacuation. He described the process as serving three purposes: demolition, collective punishment, and military use. Amr added that the goal is to impose a new reality summarized as more land and fewer Arabs.
Municipal authorities stated that the majority of those displaced are women, children, and elderly individuals. Displaced residents reported hearing soldiers tell them they would return to their homes on Judgement Day. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported on Sunday that the military established 220 barriers across Hebron. These barriers sever Palestinian communities from their lands while maintaining connectivity for settlements. The commission noted that this is part of a broader network of new outposts designed to expand control over spaces separating settlements.
Tensions have risen as Israel prepares for its general election on Tuesday, in which Netanyahu is seeking re-election. Mayor al-Jabari accused the government of exploiting the operation to secure settler votes. Amr agreed, stating that Palestinians are paying the price as electoral propaganda for the right wing. He added that the military aims to correct the history that allowed Palestinians to stay after the 1967 setback or the 1948 Nakba.
The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it would bar Palestinian workers from entering most areas of the West Bank through Monday. It will enforce a full closure of crossings into and out of the territory on Tuesday, election day. The operation comes amid increased violence across the West Bank, including attacks on olive harvesters. The UN Human Rights Office warned last month that similar actions in other camps appeared to amount to collective punishment and raised concerns of ethnic cleansing.
