Israeli Army Continues Operations in the West Bank and Maintains Siege on Hebron

The Israeli military continued its escalation in the West Bank, raiding areas in the north, center, and south, demolishing homes, and arresting Palestinians, in an attempt to maintain a clear field presence during the election days. The army raided large areas in Nablus, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Ramallah, and Qalqilya, demolishing one house and blowing up another in the town of Beita, south of Nablus. Palestinian sources said both structures belonged to detainees. It also demolished an occupied residential building and leveled land in the village of Wadi al-Hawa, northwest of Bethlehem.

In Jerusalem, Israeli forces forced a Palestinian to demolish his home in Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the grounds of lacking a permit. The army had intensified its operations in the West Bank over the past week. In addition to the operation launched in Hebron, south of the West Bank, last Friday, it launched an operation in Nablus, while continuing daily raids in other areas.

The army continued its wide-ranging operation in Hebron for the sixth consecutive day, raiding more Palestinian homes in the Jalda and Deir al-Balah areas of Hebron, and arresting four individuals from the Fawwar and Dura camps to the south. The Hebron Municipality said the number of affected families rose to approximately 780 families, in addition to displacing and besieging nearly 5,000 residents, either by forcibly forcing them to leave their homes or trapping them inside, particularly in the Jalda and Deir al-Balah areas. According to data from the Palestinian Prisoners Club, Israeli forces arrested 109 individuals since the start of its operation in Hebron, including a girl, while detaining and mistreating hundreds.

The operation in Hebron continued despite a rift that emerged between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir before the elections, after Zamir requested ending the operation in Hebron due to “poor operational results,” a move rejected by both Netanyahu and Gallant. The army announced that it searched 500 sites, arrested dozens, and found an underground tunnel, but did not report seizing weapons caches or infrastructure as hoped.

Earlier, a military source told Israel’s Kan Broadcasting Corporation that there was no need to continue the operation to find an additional pistol or a Hamas flag, hinting at electoral motives behind the continuation of the operation.