The state of escalation taking place in the occupied West Bank raises more concern about the humanitarian repercussions on the civilian population residing in the Strip, in light of a large-scale Israeli military operation that is still ongoing there, following an armed attack that took place near Hebron on Friday, October 23, which resulted in the killing of two Israeli soldiers and the injury of three others.
The Israeli army had said, when announcing this operation, that it would include searches, arrests and demolition of buildings, at a time when the Israeli Defense Forces imposed a comprehensive military closure on the West Bank, closing all land crossings and preventing Palestinian workers from entering residential communities or Israeli settlements, with the aim of reducing threats, in the period preceding the legislative elections that Israel will witness, on the twenty-seventh of this month.
The Associated Press news agency said, in a report, that on Sunday, October 25, the Israeli army continued its large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank, which led to the displacement of hundreds of Palestinians and the imposition of severe restrictions on movement.
The agency quoted the Israeli army as saying that most Palestinian workers with permits will not be allowed to enter Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to work on Sunday and Monday, and the crossings leading into Israel will remain closed, until after the Israeli elections scheduled for Tuesday.
Also according to the Israeli army, it carried out operations in more than 400 different locations over the weekend, and arrested 40 Palestinians, whom it claimed belonged to the Hamas or Islamic Jihad movements. The army indicated that the operation was still continuing at the same pace on Sunday, October 25.
According to statements by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, in an interview with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan), the Israeli operation led to the displacement of about two thousand Palestinians from their homes. Katz said in his interview with the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation: “About two thousand people were displaced. Selected army units are currently present in the region. They will not be allowed to return to their homes until we finish addressing all Hamas issues in Hebron.”
At the same time, the Hebron municipality estimated that 35 hectares (86 acres) had been destroyed or were identified as being vulnerable to destruction, and that about 1,500 people had been forced to evacuate their homes by the afternoon of Saturday, October 24, in the “Ain Deir Bahha” area. A cordon was imposed on the entire city - which has a population of 250,000 people - through checkpoints set up at all its entrances.
This operation comes at a time when Israel is entering the final days, before tense elections, which are widely viewed as a referendum on the leadership of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security policies during the past three years, which witnessed a state of war.
At a time when Palestinian sources and some international media spoke about Israel exploiting the operation it is carrying out in the West Bank in order to impose a state of collective punishment on the residents of the West Bank and cause forced population displacement, Israeli officials defended it, saying that it was necessary to protect security.
The Israeli government defended its military operation, describing it as a necessary security response to prevent further attacks against its citizens and forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the army was conducting house-to-house searches in the Hebron neighborhoods where the attackers were residing, with the aim of confiscating weapons and dismantling local Hamas cells, he said.
For their part, members of the right-wing Israeli government - including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - defended the immediate demolition of buildings and the displacement of about 2,000 Hebron residents, stressing that these measures demonstrate that “terrorism” has a high price.
