2,000 displaced as Israel launches West Bank op

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• Over 1,300 more face losing homes • Rights group says over 70 arrested • Official says houses, roads destroyed • Palestinian Authority asks world leaders for urgent action as Netanyahu hints at ‘big surprise’ JERUSALEM: The Israeli military forced thousands of Palestinians to leave their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank and demolished homes, factories, and roads as at least 15 towns were targeted during the newly launched operation on Saturday. “About 2,000 have been displaced. Selected army units are now operating there,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in an interview with public broadcaster Kan. “They will not be allowed to return to their neighbourhood until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier announced the military would launch a large-scale operation, including in the Al-Jaladah and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods near the military checkpoint at the entrance of Hebron, to ‘search for fighters and weapons’, following an attack that Israeli forces blamed on Palestinians. Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin told AFP the army started in the attackers’ neighbourhood “but there is no guarantee that the operation will not expand”, calling it a form of “collective punishment”. The governor said 150 families had been affected. Yousef Zouhair Al-Jabari, the head of Hebron’s municipality, said around 1,300 more faced losing their homes in addition to those already displaced. He also said the Israeli operations were motivated by parliamentary elections on Tuesday when Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition may lose its majority, opinion polls show. Al-Jabari said the military had demolished shops, factories, homes, and roads in Hebron and that the response was disproportionate and unjustified. In the Hebron neighbourhood of Ein Deir Baha, nestled between two hills, vacated buildings were marked by X’s and the streets were deserted, save a pair of Israeli military vehicles. Israeli flags were draped on a house on the slope apparently taken over by troops. Residents told Reuters that the military expelled many people with no connection to the attackers. Higazi Shawer al-Tamimi, 70, a shopkeeper who sells live chickens and feed and plays a leadership role in the neighbourhood, said he was awakened at 1am by soldiers and a senior officer who said he had to leave. “I asked them how long the evacuation would last. They said: ‘Until further notice.’” Meanwhile, the non-governmental organisation the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said Israeli forces had arrested around 70 Palestinians. Israeli officials have not commented on any arrests. International pressure While UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through a spokesman, voiced concern over Israeli closures that affect Palestinian livelihoods and called for a halt to violence on all sides, the Palestinian Authority called for international pressure on Israel to protect Palestinians displaced from their homes. Confronting “the growing threats to expand the scope of forced displacement and destruction requires urgent international action that goes beyond condemnation to adopt tangible and deterrent measures”, the PA’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The Palestinian Authority said it was mobilising its diplomats to seek “urgent international action that goes beyond condemnation” to prevent forced displacement. Netanyahu promises PA ‘surprise’ The Israeli military said it was “conducting precise, targeted and thorough searches” focused on the area of the two gunmen, who were both killed in a firefight. It added that the operation would last several days. But Netanyahu suggested that bigger action was coming. Asked if he agreed with the idea of dismantling the Palestinian Authority, as has been suggested by his far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Netanyahu referred to Israeli military operations in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran. “We transformed the Middle East,” he said, repeating a common campaign refrain, in an interview with i24News. “There is a very big surprise for the Palestinian Authority as well.” There is no evidence that the Palestinian Authority had any involvement in Friday’s attack. Hamas, while not claiming credit, hailed Friday’s attack on soldiers and called on Palestinians to carry out more. The attack came amid rising tensions in the West Bank as Israeli settlers, who enjoy strong support from Netanyahu’s far-right allies, ramp up seizures of Palestinian land and attacks. Rights group Yesh Din reported 672 incidents of settler violence over the past 26 days, nearly half related to the annual olive harvest. Italian activists returned Five Italian activists detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank returned to Italy on Saturday, Italy’s foreign ministry said. The five were detained on Thursday while accompanying Palestinian farmers who were collecting olives. Israel said the activists were in an area where there had been no prior authorisation from security forces for farming activity. Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2026

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