Why Israel’s latest assault on Hebron is so significant for the West Bank

The military operation began immediately after a Friday morning shooting at a checkpoint in the Farsh al-Hawa area that killed two Israeli soldiers, who also killed the two Palestinian suspects. Israeli forces subsequently closed all entrances to the city and launched large-scale demolitions of Palestinian buildings, with some homes converted into military posts and barracks.

According to Hebron municipality data, the targeted displacement area covers 350 dunams (35 hectares or 86 acres), affecting nearly 500 Palestinian families. Troops stormed the Ein Deir Bahha neighbourhood, forcing dozens of families to flee their homes at night without any belongings.

Mass forced expulsions

Hebron has been subject to severe collective punishment by Israeli forces that has impacted about 900,000 Palestinians. Human rights researcher Hesham al-Sharbati told Al Jazeera that the military's actions represent 'a complete eviction campaign for a Palestinian residential neighbourhood'.

Moamar Yousef al-Awiwi, a Hebron municipal council member, stated that the latest Israeli operation comes after a series of measures aimed at displacing the Palestinian population. '[It] serves as a crime and collective punishment contrary to all international customs and laws,' he told Al Jazeera.

Rights groups have compared the current assault on Hebron to the tactics used during the January 2025 'Iron Wall' operation in the Jenin and Nur Shams refugee camps, which displaced more than 30,000 people and destroyed over half of their residential buildings.

Economic strangulation

Hebron accounts for about 40 percent of Palestinian industrial output and 30 percent of exports, but economic activity has been severely affected by Israeli restrictions. The city has the highest concentration of military obstacles in the West Bank, with about 40 percent of the 89 main checkpoints in the occupied territory concentrated in its most restricted zones.

Economic researcher Ahmed Abu Qamar warned that current restrictions will impact the entire Palestinian economy due to Hebron's economic significance. 'Any restrictions imposed on it... will put pressure on the entire Palestinian economy in the West Bank,' he told Al Jazeera.

Abu Qamar explained that restrictions lead to 'a rise in production costs due to difficulty of supply and logistical disruption,' with businesses likely missing delivery deadlines. Many facilities may be forced to completely stop working or reduce hours to the minimum.

Settler expansion

Hundreds of Israeli settlers in Hebron's Old City further complicate Palestinian daily life. Under the 1997 Hebron Protocol, the city was divided into H1 (under Palestinian civil control) and H2 (under Israeli security control), where 7,000 Palestinians live under strict military control.

Israeli authorities have systematically expanded 'closed zones' around settlements, which are illegal under international law. In early October, they installed three iron gates across a 200-metre stretch of the Old City, further cutting off commercial arteries like Shuhada Street, where over 500 shops have been forcibly shuttered.

Many Palestinian residents are forced to navigate dangerous, unlit cemetery paths to bypass military closures and bag searches during winter months.

Religious site tensions

At the center of the H2 zone lies the Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs), a 14th-century site recognized by UNESCO as part of the Old City's World Heritage Site. In 1994, an American-Israeli settler killed 29 Palestinian worshippers at the site, leading to its permanent partition and restricted Palestinian access.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently announced the seizure of planning and construction powers over the mosque and surrounding H2 zone, stripping the Palestinian municipality of oversight. This action abolished vital parts of the 1997 Hebron Agreement, further entrenching the occupation.