Hebron Sealed as 2,000 Residents Displaced After Checkpoint Killings

Two soldiers died at an Israeli military checkpoint in Hebron on Friday, triggering a rapid military response that has left the West Bank's largest city sealed off.

The attack occurred early in the week, shortly before Israel's general election scheduled for Tuesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the site shortly after the shooting. Their coalition currently trails in polling, with two days of campaigning remaining. They promised immediate retribution and described upcoming military operations as the largest in the region in nearly 60 years.

The city of 250,000 residents was sealed off within hours of the attack. The Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood, located closest to the checkpoint, was targeted for demolition. By Sunday morning, bulldozers had reduced the local industrial zone to rubble. The area previously housed car workshops, a large ceramics plant, and other commercial businesses.

Simultaneously, military forces moved into the Ein Deir Baha district several kilometers away. Israeli officials stated that at least one of the two attackers, both of whom were killed at the scene, resided in this area. Residents of Ein Deir Baha were ordered to vacate their homes. Fahed Ahmaro, the imam of the local mosque, was awakened around midnight by loudspeakers on patrolling vehicles. He was told to leave immediately for safety reasons. Ahmaro, who shares his home with 30 family members, took his elderly mother and grandchildren to a relative's house. Upon returning for belongings, he found the army had blown up his gate.

"You don't know what you have until you lose it," Ahmaro said. He spent Sunday shopping for clothes for his grandchildren, uncertain how long the displacement would last. The Hebron municipality reported that 370 families, totaling nearly 2,000 people, were displaced by the sweep through Ein Deir Baha. The Israeli army stated that residents left voluntarily and that civilians were permitted to evacuate temporarily. Ahmaro rejected this account, asking why he should leave his house.

Abdul Halim al-Tamimi, 77, described a different timeline. He said military personnel arrived at 1:30 a.m. and gave his family 10 minutes to depart. An intelligence officer warned that refusal would result in displacement similar to operations in Gaza. The family stood outside until three military vehicles confronted them, forcing them out at 3 a.m. on Saturday. By Sunday morning, the villa was draped in large Israeli flags and served as an army headquarters, surrounded by military vehicles.

The army claimed that about 2,000 local residents belong to the Jaba'a clan, which it associated with Hamas. Residents of Ein Deir Baha disputed this figure, stating the clan numbers at most 150 people and lacks a reputation for radicalism. Tamimi noted his family is from a different clan and suggested the operation may serve election publicity purposes.

By Sunday evening, all roads in and out of Hebron remained closed to vehicles behind heavy steel barriers. Only pedestrians were allowed to pass. 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. Hebron's mayor, Yousef al-Jabari, called the measures collective punishment. He noted that people were dragged from their homes and that the media was kept out of the district. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cannot vote on Tuesday, but the election outcome will affect their daily lives.