More than 2,000 forced from homes in Hebron amid Israel’s West Bank raids
Palestinians in Hebron are 'living in fear' with the city closed, while Israeli forces arrest dozens across the West Bank.
Israel has imposed a lockdown and displaced thousands of Palestinians from their homes in Hebron, as the military conducts raids in the occupied West Bank following the deaths of two Israeli soldiers.
This comes as the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday called for international pressure on Israel to protect Hebron’s residents, who said soldiers announced evacuation orders over loudspeakers late at night, leaving them with no time to prepare and few places to move to.
Hebron’s mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari told Al Jazeera that 2,200 people had been forced from their homes as hundreds of Israeli raids took place since Friday’s attack by two Palestinian gunmen on an Israeli army reserve base. The two Palestinians were killed, as well as the two Israeli soldiers.
The PA, which governs the West Bank, called Israel’s actions “collective punishment”, citing the demolition of homes, forced displacement of entire neighbourhoods, and the “closure and siege of Palestinian cities”, and urged the international community to intervene, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.