Almost 5,000 people have been displaced as a result of Israel’s military siege on the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Al Jazeera reveals. As the lockdown, which has choked the city off at 10 identified entry points, enters its second week on Friday, the number of people forcibly removed from their homes stands at 4,969. The displaced population includes vulnerable groups: 441 elderly people, 336 infants less than two years old and 312 patients with chronic diseases.
More than 200 pregnant or nursing women are also included, as well as 44 people with disabilities. Al Jazeera, which has analysed municipal data and statistics from human rights groups, reveals that 780 families are currently displaced, representing about 2 percent of the city’s 250,000 residents. He added in a statement to Anadolu agency that Hebron is “facing a severe, massive siege and collective punishment”.
On October 24, the mayor told Al Jazeera that about 2,200 people were displaced, meaning the number had more than doubled in just two days. The military siege began on Friday, October 23, after two Palestinians shot two Israeli soldiers dead in Hebron and injured three others, before the army killed the two attackers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on social media that he had ordered security forces to immediately close Hebron and “prepare for a full lockdown across all of Judea and Samaria [the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank]”.
The Israeli army said the operation aims to “thwart terrorism” by searching, arresting suspects, and confiscating weapons. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Palestinians will not be allowed to return to their homes until Hamas’s “infrastructure” is dismantled. However, the Israeli news site Ynet quoted the army as saying the search for weapons has had “limited accomplishments” and keeping residents away from their homes for a prolonged period faces “legal difficulties”.
The municipality noted that the targeted eviction zone spans 0.35 square kilometres (0.14 square miles) – the size of 49 football pitches and an area housing more than 500 families comprising at least 2,500 individuals. Conditions remain precarious; among the families whose locations have been tracked, 283 are residing with relatives and 266 are in locations classified by the municipality as unsafe. According to Al Jazeera’s findings, most displaced families have sought refuge with relatives or host families in nearby neighbourhoods such as Issa, and no one has resorted to official shelter centres, while only 23 families managed to secure rented homes.
Al Jazeera’s analysis shows that Israeli forces have surrounded the city by closing off 10 entrances located between 2.4km (1.5 miles) and 7.6km (4.7 miles) from the centre. These blockades include Halhul, Nabi Yunus and Ras al-Jora to the north; Beit Einun to the northeast; and Bir al-Mahjar to the northwest. The eastern and southern flanks are blockaded by closures at Jabal Juhar, al-Fahs, Qalqas, al-Harayiq and Dura.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
