West Bank: Palestinians call for international pressure for Israeli army deployment

The Palestinian Authority is calling on the international community to intervene over the actions of Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank.

According to the autonomous authority, the measures in the Hebron area - including the displacement of residents, the demolition of houses and buildings and the closure of cities - constitute collective punishment. This escalation will not bring security or peace to anyone, but will only fuel further tensions, it said. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called for “concrete and dissuasive measures.”

The Israeli army has advanced into the city of Hebron on the orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli army said “precise, targeted and thorough searches” were taking place. The “anti-terror operations” would “probably last several days.”

Deadly attack on Israeli soldiers

On Friday morning, two men opened fire on Israeli soldiers with a pistol and an automatic rifle at a checkpoint near Hebron. According to the army, they killed two soldiers aged 20 and 23 and injured three others before they were shot. The Palestinian organization Hamas welcomed the deadly attack against the Israeli soldiers as a “heroic operation,” but did not acknowledge it.

In the Ein Dir Baha district of Hebron, buildings were marked with "X" to indicate that they had been evacuated. The streets in the area were deserted. An Israeli flag hung on a house that had apparently been taken over by soldiers.

Palestinian shopkeeper Shawer al-Tamimi, who plays a leading role in the neighborhood, told AFP that Israeli soldiers woke him up at 1 a.m. and told him and other residents they had to leave.

Al-Tamimi only had two hours and only packed clothes and his official documents. Many families do not have vehicles and try to find accommodation with relatives elsewhere. This only happened because Netanyahu wanted to win the election, says al-Tamimi. "He wants to win them with the blood of the Palestinian people," said the 70-year-old. "But we're not going anywhere."

Up to 250 displaced families

Around a third of Hebron was targeted, Hebron Governor Chaled Dudin told AFP. "They started in the neighborhood where the people who carried out the attack came from, but there is no guarantee that the operation will not be expanded," he said. "This amounts to collective punishment of civilians who have nothing to do with this," he added.

Netanyahu promised a military offensive not seen since the Six-Day War in 1967. His right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a military offensive in the West Bank "just like in the Gaza Strip." A new parliament will be elected in Israel on Tuesday. Netanyahu is aiming for another term in office.

He also announced a “very big surprise” for the Palestinian Authority. In an interview with the Israeli broadcaster i24News, he avoided a direct answer when asked whether he would dismantle the Palestinian Authority. However, the Israeli head of government said: "I will neutralize this threat using means that I think are best left undisclosed at the moment."

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. Around three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there, whose settlements are illegal under international law. Hebron is divided into a Palestinian-administered part and an Israeli-settled part controlled by the Israeli army. Most recently, settler attacks on Palestinian olive farmers increased tensions.