IDF bulldozer sweep in Hebron displaces 200 families ahead of vote

Israeli military bulldozers leveled an entire street in Hebron on Friday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a major offensive in the occupied West Bank.

The operation followed an attack on a checkpoint that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others. Both Palestinian gunmen were killed during the incident. Netanyahu declared that buildings near the attack site and the neighborhoods the gunmen came from would be destroyed. He stated that forces would evacuate residents, remove weapons house by house, and eliminate terrorist infrastructure.

Local officials report that at least 200 families have been displaced from the Ein Deir Baha and Farsh al-Hawa neighborhoods. Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari said the military targeted homes, businesses, and industrial sites across roughly 0.35 square kilometers of urban land. He estimated that the campaign intends to displace 2,500 people. Some residents were forced to spend the night outdoors without their vehicles while houses were marked for demolition with spray paint.

The army sealed off the city of 200,000, sharply limiting movement for residents. The Israel Defense Forces said in a social media post that it had dozens of targets across the West Bank and that operations would continue for several days. Netanyahu traveled to Hebron wearing protective armor and cancelled his party's campaign events for the morning. He told reporters that he had reviewed plans for the largest military operation in the West Bank since 1967, though he did not specify a timeline for that broader campaign.

The general election is scheduled for four days from Friday. Netanyahu's campaign focuses on security promises, and he framed the Hebron sweep as a response to the recent violence. In an interview with i24 television released on Saturday, he threatened the Palestinian Authority with a very big surprise. The PA called for urgent international action to prevent further forced displacement. Within the Israeli government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged a campaign similar to those in Gaza and Lebanon, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority.

Al-Jaabari told journalists that the operation was driven by the elections. He said Netanyahu and his ministers were attempting to win the votes of the far right and settlers. Israeli rights groups have criticized the demolition of homes linked to attackers as collective punishment. The military has used this tactic in previous West Bank operations, including campaigns in northern refugee camps in 2025 that displaced tens of thousands.