Hebron lockdown displaces thousands as Israeli elections begin
Military operations in the West Bank have forced 3,171 Palestinians from their homes while 482 settler attacks on olive harvests were recorded in nine governorates.
By John Price ·
Israelis prepare to vote in elections this week, a period of heightened political activity that coincides with expanded military control in the West Bank. Since Friday, the city of Hebron has operated under a strict lockdown following a shooting incident at a northern army checkpoint. Two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others before being neutralized. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the isolation of the city, instructing troops to search the gunmen's neighborhood house by house. He stated the goal was to destroy the area and change it completely.
The military response has resulted in a mass displacement of residents in the Hebron area. By Monday, the fourth day of the closure, Hebron Municipality data reported that 3,171 Palestinians from 488 families had been forced from their homes. Defence Minister Israel Katz said residents would not be permitted to return until the military finished addressing Hamas issues in the city. Governor Khaled Dudin reported that forces searched more than 500 homes, arrested more than 70 people, and established 128 closed gates and 120 checkpoints across the city. The Palestinian Prisoner's Society indicated that the displaced group included 127 infants, 81 pregnant women, and 26 people with disabilities.
Destruction of private property and commercial assets has accompanied the searches. Bulldozers demolished a three-apartment building owned by Riyad Amrish, along with a tile factory, an auto-parts shop, and other businesses in the Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the demolitions, according to Channel 12. The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem described the operation as collective punishment that could constitute war crimes. Meanwhile, the army barred Palestinian workers from Israeli settlements on Sunday and Monday and closed all crossings on election day.
Simultaneous sieges have affected other parts of the West Bank at various scales. In Masafer Yatta, the family of Yusuf Shanaran has been besieged by settlers for three weeks, unable to leave or receive aid without army coordination. In Umm Safa, a demolition order with a November 11 deadline was issued for a house built in 1954, after a gate blocked the road for months. Madama, south of Nablus, emerged from a two-week siege of its four entrances, though heavy restrictions remain at the northern entrance. Twelve communities in Masafer Yatta were cut off for several days, leaving about 50 teachers unable to reach their schools.
The olive harvest season has seen a rise in settler violence and theft. The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission counted 482 attacks on the harvest by Sunday across nine governorates. These incidents included the theft of olives and equipment in at least a dozen villages, such as Sinjil and Ein Arik. In one instance near Immatin, 25 masked settlers drove three tractors and two trailers down a hillside, destroying the cargo. Assaults occurred in at least 15 locations, with farmers in Burin sustaining head wounds from stones and pickers in Beit Iksa being pepper-sprayed. Detentions affected at least a dozen areas, including 15 farmers held in as-Sawiya. Soldiers and settlers uprooted or burned olive trees in at least 10 locations, including Burqa and Madama. Arson targeted homes in Burqa and Deir Abu Mishal. United States congressional candidate Brad Lander was among about 80 volunteers detained near Nahalin on Wednesday.
In Gaza, daily attacks continued to claim lives. The Gaza Ministry of Health recorded 11 deaths and 35 wounded on Monday, bringing the toll since the October 2025 ceasefire to 1,559 killed and 5,608 wounded. The cumulative death toll stands at 74,555. Among those killed this week were Akram Yassin and his wife Dina Abu Bakr, who died in a strike on their apartment behind al-Shifa Hospital. Three security guards at the Islamic University in Gaza City were killed on Sunday. Hunger worsened as crossings remained shut, causing flour stocks to run out and leaving only seven of 20 commercial bakeries open. A tray of eggs reached a price of 60 shekels. Pressure began to ease on the evening of October 23 when Israel announced commercial goods would resume and an Egyptian committee delivered flour.
Source: Al Jazeera
