Hebron, occupied West Bank – Sufyan al-Qawasmi stood near the rubble of his factories in the Farsh al-Hawa area of Hebron, lamenting the business he watched vanish beneath the debris. Israeli bulldozers demolished the factories on Friday without any prior warning or notice, following a shooting attack carried out by two Palestinians that morning near Hebron’s western entrance. The attack killed two Israeli soldiers, as well as the two Palestinian gunmen, and prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce a large-scale military operation across Hebron and order preparations for a wider closure of the illegally occupied West Bank.
Demolitions are regularly used by Israel to punish Palestinians, typically the family members of attackers, but in al-Qawasmi’s case, for the misfortune of being close to the site of an attack. Human rights groups decry the practice, which is regarded as collective punishment. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich justified the demolitions as “establishing deterrence and exacting a price”.
The Israeli bulldozers destroyed a business that al-Qawasmi’s family had built up for his whole life, and provided a livelihood for more than 70 people. The first factory, which produced ceramics, is the same age as he is – it was established 50 years ago. Fifteen years later, the family opened a marble factory.
Their business flourished, becoming one of the most significant industrial operations in the West Bank, with goods exported to Israel. In the space of a few hours on Friday, the ceramic factory and marble factory were gone, as well as several neighbouring buildings, including a three-storey house and various commercial facilities. Simultaneously, the city faced an Israeli military incursion that included the closure of all entrances, raids, arrests, and the forced evacuation of more than 3,000 Palestinians from their homes, severely disrupting the lives of residents and the city’s commercial activity.
The message was clear: the whole city would be punished for the actions of the attackers. Al-Qawasmi says he was given no chance to retrieve goods from the family businesses’ warehouses and factories before the demolitions began, leaving the stock buried under the rubble, where it remains. Al-Qawasmi says that 1,300 square metres of their business’ property was destroyed, including the family’s offices.
He estimates the losses at no less than 60 million shekels ($19m). Those losses are devastating for al-Qawasmi’s family, but also for the wider economy in Hebron and the Palestinian economy as a whole. According to the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hebron serves as a primary pillar of the Palestinian economy, contributing approximately 42 percent of the Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP).
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