Troops turn Palestinian homes into barracks, observation posts after forcing residents to leave
Foreign Minister Israel Katz urges allies to attack Iran if it strikes. PHOTO: REUTERS
Israel’s defence minister acknowledged Saturday that Israeli forces had forcibly displaced around 2,000 Palestinians from their homes in Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank.
Defence chief Israel Katz told public broadcaster KAN that displaced residents would not be allowed to return until what he called “Hamas infrastructure” in the city was dismantled.
His remarks came as an Israeli military operation in the city of Hebron entered its second day, disrupting education and municipal services.
Hebron’s education directorate suspended school Sunday and Monday, while Hebron University and Al-Quds Open University moved Sunday’s classes online. The municipality said rubbish was accumulating as the closure of the city’s entrances prevented access to disposal sites outside it.
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Israeli forces sealed off Hebron and nearby Halhul on Friday after two Palestinians attacked an Israeli checkpoint. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and three others were also wounded, while Israeli forces killed both attackers, according to Israeli figures.
The army announced late Friday that it had launched an operation expected to last several days, involving Shin Bet and Border Police forces.
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Israeli forces turned Palestinian homes into barracks and observation posts after forcing residents to leave Hebron on Saturday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
Troops took over homes in the Khallat Manna and Dahiyat al-Zaytoun areas of southern Hebron to be used as barracks, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing sources.
They also forced residents from homes in other neighbourhoods and used the properties as observation posts, said sources.
The evictions follow the forced displacement of hundreds of families since Friday, amid extensive raids, road closures, and tight restrictions on movement.
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Near Bethlehem, Israeli forces blocked dirt roads leading to the town of Tuqu and fired tear gas and stun grenades toward Palestinian vehicles traveling along rough alternative routes, Wafa reported, citing Palestinian security sources.
The agency said ongoing closures across Bethlehem and surrounding towns and villages left Palestinians depending on unpaved roads to travel between communities.
The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has seen escalating Israeli military attacks and occupier violence since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
The attacks have included killing and detaining Palestinians, demolishing homes and other structures, burning mosques and vehicles, bulldozing farmland, preventing farmers from accessing their fields, and displacing Palestinian communities, alongside illegal settlement expansion.
