Hebron Sealed After Checkpoint Shooting

Hebron, the largest city in the West Bank with a population of 250,000, is currently sealed off by heavy steel barriers. All roads in and out of the city are closed to cars, allowing only pedestrians to move through. This isolation began after a gun attack on Friday at an Israeli military checkpoint that killed two soldiers. The incident has turned the city into a central arena for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

The military response was immediate and extensive. Within hours of the shooting, the city was locked down. The neighborhood of Farsh al-Hawa, located closest to the attack site, was flattened. By Sunday morning, an industrial area containing car workshops and a large ceramics plant had been reduced to rubble. Bulldozer operations continued in that sector while a separate district, Ein Deir Baha, was being emptied of its residents.

The Hebron municipality reported that 370 families, representing nearly 2,000 people, were displaced during the sweep through Ein Deir Baha. The Israeli army stated that residents left voluntarily and that civilians were permitted to evacuate the area temporarily. However, local residents rejected the characterization of the process as voluntary. Fahed Ahmaro, the imam of the local mosque, described waking up around midnight to loudspeakers on military vehicles ordering homeowners to leave immediately for their safety.

Ahmaro, who had thirty family members living in his house, took his frail mother and several grandchildren to a relative’s home. As he returned to collect belongings, a neighbor warned him that the army had blown up the gates of his house. He said, "You don't know what you have until you lose it." By Sunday, he was shopping for clothes for his grandchildren, uncertain how long his family’s exile would last. The army claims the displaced residents belong to the Jaba'a clan, from which the gunmen were allegedly drawn, and describes the group as associated with Hamas.

Residents of Ein Deir Baha disputed the army's assessment of the clan's size and political alignment. Abdul Halim al-Tamimi, 77, said his family belongs to a different clan. He noted that the Jaba'a clan numbers at most 150 people and lacks a known reputation for radicalism. Tamimi suggested the operation might serve election publicity purposes. The Israeli government's ruling coalition is narrowly trailing in polls with two days of campaigning remaining, prompting Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to make televised visits to the area. They promised swift retribution and warned of military operations on a scale not seen in the West Bank in nearly 60 years.

The timeline of the displacement was compressed for many families. Al-Tamimi stated that the military arrived at his home at 1:30 a.m. and gave his family ten minutes to leave. An intelligence officer warned that if they refused, they would be displaced in the manner used in Gaza. The family stood outside until three military vehicles confronted them, forcing them to leave at 3 a.m. on Saturday. By Sunday morning, their villa had been draped in large Israeli flags, ringed by military vehicles, and converted into an army headquarters.

The economic and physical impact on the city has been immediate. Wasam Sadi, a delivery truck driver, arrived at a checkpoint with a smashed windshield and glass in his eyes. He said settlers had attacked him at a nearby junction. Yousef al-Jabari, Hebron’s mayor, labeled the measures collective punishment. He stated that people had been dragged from their homes and that the media had been kept out of the affected district. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cannot vote on Tuesday, but the election outcome will likely determine the future trajectory of such operations.