Palestinian Authority says 2,670 displaced in Israel’s Hebron operation

The Palestinian Authority said Sunday that nearly 2,700 people had been displaced by an Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron launched after two soldiers were killed in an attack nearby.

Following Friday’s attack, Israeli forces entered the Hebron neighbourhood of Ein Deir Baha, where the assailants lived, and ordered residents to pack up and leave after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged a major operation in the occupied territory.

“More than 2,670 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes in Hebron by Israeli occupation forces, the majority of them women, children, and elderly people, according to data from Hebron Municipality,” the Palestinian prime minister’s office said on X.

A convoy of Israeli military and police vehicles accompanied by soldiers was seen in Hebron on Sunday, making its way down a street blocked to civilian traffic by parked cars and motorbikes, AFP images showed.

Local shopkeeper Higazi al-Tamimi, who also plays a leadership role in the evacuated neighbourhood, accused Israeli soldiers of beating him as he attempted to go to his home.

“I remember one or two people starting to strike my legs, chest and shoulders. One of them even hit me on the head,” he said from a hospital bed, with his leg thickly bandaged.

“They then pushed me backwards, and I kept moving until I reached a safe area.”