373 Families Forced From Hebron Homes, Deputy Mayor Says
The deputy mayor says 373 families have been forced out during an operation following the killing of two Israeli soldiers. Israel's defence minister has tied their return to the completion of its security aims.
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by Sami Haddad
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Israeli forces have forced 2,231 Palestinians from their homes in Hebron since the weekend, the city's deputy mayor said, as a military operation displaces hundreds of families.
Deputy Mayor Khaled Fahd al-Qawasmi told Haaretz on October 25 that 373 families had been removed and about 30 more faced removal. His account gives the latest measure of civilian displacement during the operation in the occupied West Bank city.
The operation followed a shooting near Hebron on October 23 that killed two Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military said it was searching for militants and weapons in the area where the attackers had operated, and expected the operation to last several days.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said the forced removals violate international law, according to Haaretz. Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin separately accused Israel of collectively punishing civilians who had no connection to the shooting.
Israel's military described its searches as precise and targeted. Defence Minister Israel Katz acknowledged that about 2,000 people had been displaced and said residents would not be allowed back to their neighbourhood until Israel had finished dealing with what he called the Hamas issues in Hebron, according to Al Jazeera.
Neither statement gave residents a date to go home. The military offered an estimate of how long its searches would take, while Katz made return conditional on the achievement of security aims.
