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Hebron sealed off as Israeli troops push families from their homes in al-Jalda
Every road gate into the West Bank's largest city was shut to cars on Saturday, a day after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers. The army says the operation will last several days.
Key points
- All gates into and out of Hebron were impassable by car on Saturday, a checkpoint monitor said.
- Up to 200 families were forced out of the al-Jalda neighbourhood, Palestinian sources said.
- The army said the operation would be limited and would last several days.
Israel closed off Hebron on Saturday, shutting every road gate into the largest city in the occupied West Bank and forcing families out of their homes, a day after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers nearby.
Basma Radio, a Telegram channel that tracks checkpoints, said all gates into and out of the city were impassable by car. The Palestinian news agency WAFA said troops had ordered dozens of residents to leave their homes in several neighbourhoods. In al-Jalda, up to 200 families were “forcibly displaced”, according to Palestinian accounts.
The Israeli army said its forces were “conducting precise, targeted and thorough searches” in the area. It said the operation was “focused and limited to the area from which the terrorists operated” and would last several days. It did not answer questions about the evictions.
The operation began after gunmen opened fire near Hebron on Friday, killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding others. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a major military operation in response.
Waiting at the gate
For many in the city, the closure meant long walks and turned-back cars. Reem Al Jiyawi waited at a locked gate so that her 11-year-old daughter could cross on foot to reach a cancer-related appointment in the nearby town of Dura.
Netanyahu said the Palestinian Authority was in for a “big surprise”. On Friday he also ordered a wider lockdown across the West Bank.
Settler attack west of the city
Outside Hebron, several Palestinian farmers were reported injured on Saturday morning when settlers attacked a cactus farm at Khirbet Suba, west of the city, WAFA said. Israeli forces at first stopped ambulances from reaching the area. The number of injured and the extent of their wounds were not known. The attack came during the olive harvest, when farmers across the West Bank have reported repeated assaults by settlers.
Days before Israel votes
The operation comes three days before Israelis vote in a general election on Tuesday. After Friday’s attack, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the Palestinian Authority to be dismantled.
The army has given no figure for arrests on Saturday. Palestinian groups counted 36 arrests across the West Bank in a single day as the operation began on Friday night.