Hebron families displaced as Israeli forces demolish buildings

Israeli forces have demolished homes and businesses in Hebron and restricted access to the occupied West Bank city after a checkpoint shooting that killed two Israeli soldiers. Palestinian officials say more than 200 families have been displaced during the operation, though estimates of how many people have left vary.

The operation began on Friday, after two Palestinian gunmen attacked the checkpoint near Hebron. Both gunmen were killed and three other soldiers were injured. The Israeli military says it is searching for militants and weapons in the area from which the gunmen came. It says structures near the checkpoint are being removed because they were built illegally and may pose security risks.

Residents and the military have given different accounts of the departures. The military said civilians who “requested to evacuate” could leave through designated checkpoints after screening. Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi told AFP that soldiers woke him at 1am and told him to leave. He said his 90-year-old mother-in-law had to be carried out because she was ill.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA quoted Hebron governor Khaled Dudin as saying more than 200 families had been displaced and reported that about 1,500 people had left their homes. Reuters cited a Palestinian official who put the number of people at about 1,200. AFP quoted Dudin saying 150 families had been *affected*, while the Guardian cited a municipal spokesperson who said about 300 families had left. Those descriptions do not all measure the same thing.

Hebron’s mayor, Youssef al-Jaabari, said he believed as many as 2,500 people in the affected areas could ultimately be displaced. Reuters quoted him as saying about 1,300 more people faced losing their homes, in addition to its estimate of 1,200 who had already left. The 2,500 figure is a forecast, not a count of departures.

Buildings have been demolished, but not every demolition necessarily stems from Friday’s shooting. Anadolu Agency reported that an order to demolish one residential building it filmed had reportedly been issued months before the attack. That does not establish the grounds for demolishing other structures.