Israeli army withdraws from Hebron after operation displaces thousands of Palestinians

The Israeli army has pulled back following an operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron launched in the wake of an attack that killed two soldiers in late October, a military official said Monday.

The operation had emptied a neighbourhood in the West Bank's largest city where the two gunmen had lived. AFP journalists witnessed residents returning to their homes on Monday after the military left.

Read moreIsraeli forces displace 2,000 Palestinians in Hebron after deadly attack on soldiers

"This morning, following the completion of all operational activities, the soldiers withdrew from the area of operation in Hebron. Counterterrorism activities throughout Judea and Samaria continue," the official said, using the biblical name for the Palestinian territory.

On October 23, days ahead of close-fought Israeli elections, two Palestinian gunmen attacked an army checkpoint near Hebron, killing two soldiers and prompting promises of a major retaliatory operation from senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

By the following morning, the military had cleared out the residents of the assailants' neighbourhood, displacing more than 3,000 people, according to the municipality.

The military official said that "soldiers conducted thorough searches of multiple locations, detained and questioned suspects, and located and confiscated four weapons, several vests, and additional military equipment". 

They also demolished the two attackers' homes and "sealed an underground space located next to" one of them.

Muhannad al-Tamimi, whose house was occupied by soldiers since the operation began, told AFP his family came back to a trashed apartment with furniture and clothing strewn on the floors, mattresses overturned and a child's bicycle broken.