Hebron Siege: Evictions Begin After Checkpoint Firefight

Israel initiated a blockade of Hebron and the nearby town of Halhul on Friday following a deadly shootout at a checkpoint.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the siege, stating that residents of the attackers' home neighborhoods would be forced to leave. He promised mass demolitions of homes, a move he said was part of the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video of himself standing in front of a bulldozer as it demolished a Palestinian home near the shooting site. Smotrich described the unpermitted building as a means to create deterrence and exact a price, though no link was established between the owners and the gunmen.

Israel's high court issued a temporary order to halt the demolitions shortly after work began. Human rights lawyer Mohammed Dahleh filed an urgent petition on behalf of two local factory owners, arguing the action breached international law on collective punishment. Dahleh stated that the move attempted to replicate illegal practices from Gaza in the heart of the West Bank.

Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed further evictions and compared the plan to the treatment of the Jenin refugee camp, where nearly 20,000 people have been displaced. Katz declared that every clan neighborhood from which the terrorists emerged would be evacuated. Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, has approximately 250,000 residents.

The Israeli military reported that two men armed with an assault rifle and a handgun carried out the attack. They drove a car with Israeli number plates and opened fire after being stopped at a temporary checkpoint. The gunfight lasted 20 minutes and ended when both men were killed.

An AFP photographer who witnessed the exchange described seeing two Palestinian men firing at Israeli forces. Prominent Israelis, including a candidate for the far-right Amcha Yisrael party, later shared conspiracy theories linking the photographer to the gunmen. The Foreign Press Association called the claims dangerous and defamatory, noting the incident occurred a week after settlers injured photographer Heidi Levine during the olive harvest.

More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since October 2023. Violence has intensified since the olive harvest began in late September. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited Hebron on Friday to demand the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and tighter movement limits. Polls suggest the governing far-right coalition may lose its majority in Tuesday's elections.