Hebron residents leave homes after checkpoint shooting

Nearly 2,000 people left their homes in Hebron over a two-day period. The Hebron municipality confirmed that 370 families were displaced during a military sweep through the Ein Deir Baha district. This number represents the largest group of residents uprooted in the area since the occupation began.

The actions followed a gun attack on Friday at an Israeli military checkpoint. Two soldiers died in the incident. Both attackers were killed at the scene. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited the site on video within hours of the shooting. Their coalition is currently trailing in opinion polls with two days of campaigning left before Tuesday's vote.

Netanyahu warned of military operations on a scale not seen in the West Bank in nearly 60 years. By Sunday morning, the city of 250,000 was sealed off. Heavy steel barriers blocked all roads in and out. Only pedestrians could move through the checkpoints. An industrial area in the Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood was flattened. Car workshops and a large ceramics plant were reduced to rubble.

Fahed Ahmaro, the imam of a local mosque, was woken around midnight by loudspeakers on military vehicles. He was ordered to leave his house immediately for his own safety. Thirty members of his family lived in that home. He took his mother and some grandchildren to his daughter's house. When he returned to collect belongings, a neighbor told him the army had blown up the gates. "You don't know what you have until you lose it," Ahmaro said.

Abdul Halim al-Tamimi, 77, said the military arrived at 1:30 a.m. and gave his family ten minutes to pack. An intelligence officer told them that if they refused to leave, they would be displaced in the same manner as Gaza. Three military vehicles surrounded the house by 3:00 a.m. Saturday. By Sunday morning, the villa was used as an army headquarters and draped in large Israeli flags.

The Israeli army stated that residents left voluntarily. It said civilians who wished to evacuate were permitted to leave the area temporarily. The army claimed that about 2,000 locals belonged to the Jaba'a clan. It described the clan as associated with Hamas. Residents of Ein Deir Baha disputed this account. They said the clan numbers only 150 people and has no known reputation for radicalism. Tamimi said his family belongs to a different clan and suggested the operation served election publicity.

The army's actions drew criticism from local leaders. Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari called the measures collective punishment. He said people were dragged from their homes and kept out of the district by media. Wasam Sadi, a delivery truck driver, arrived at a checkpoint with a smashed windshield. He said settlers had attacked him at a nearby junction. Glass was still in his eyes when he spoke.

Hebron has historically played a small role in Israeli elections. It now sits at the center of the campaign. The city serves as a test of Netanyahu's security credentials. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank cannot vote on Tuesday. The outcome of the election could deeply affect their lives. The city remains sealed as of Sunday evening.