Netanyahu Campaigns Security Mandate as Hebron Residents Face Evictions

Benjamin Netanyahu and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich appeared on television within hours of a Friday gun attack that killed two Israeli soldiers at a Hebron checkpoint. With their coalition narrowly trailing in polls and Tuesday's vote two days away, the leaders promised sweeping military retribution. Netanyahu warned that operations would reach a scale unseen in the West Bank's nearly six decades of occupation, positioning the conflict as a key test of his security record.

The military response began immediately. By Sunday morning, the Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood near the attack site had been flattened. Bulldozers reduced an industrial zone containing car workshops and a ceramics plant to rubble. Simultaneously, forces moved into the Ein Deir Baha district, located a few kilometers away, to clear the area of residents.

Local officials stated that the sweep displaced 370 families, or nearly 2,000 people, from Ein Deir Baha. The Israeli army described the move as voluntary, saying civilians were permitted to leave temporarily. Fahed Ahmaro, imam of the local mosque, rejected that characterization. He recalled being woken at midnight by loudspeakers on patrolling vehicles ordering homeowners to leave for their safety. After moving his mother and grandchildren to his daughter's home, Ahmaro returned to find the army had blown up his house gates. He described the loss in simple terms, noting that people do not know what they have until it is gone.

The timing and method of the evictions drew scrutiny. Abdul Halim al-Tamimi, 77, said military officers arrived at his home at 1:30 a.m. and gave his family ten minutes to leave. He reported that an intelligence officer threatened displacement similar to that seen in Gaza if they refused. The family was forced out at 3 a.m. Saturday. By Sunday, their villa served as an army headquarters, draped in Israeli flags and surrounded by military vehicles. The army attributed the operation to the Jaba'a clan, alleging the shooters came from that group and linking it to Hamas. Residents countered that the clan numbers no more than 150 people and lacks a reputation for radicalism. Tamimi, who belongs to a different clan, suggested the operation served election publicity.

As of Sunday evening, steel barriers blocked all vehicle access to Hebron. Only pedestrians could move through the sealed city. The mayor, Yousef al-Jabari, labeled the measures collective punishment and criticized the media exclusion from the affected districts. While West Bank residents cannot vote on Tuesday, the outcome of the Israeli election will shape the future of the occupied territory.