World

Israeli Forces Demolish Homes of Two Brothers After Hebron Attack

By Al Jazeera Staff

Israeli forces demolished the homes of brothers Ahmad and Hammouda al‑Jaabeh in Hebron on Friday, after surrounding the buildings since morning and sealing off the area. The brothers were killed on October 23 during an attack near the Farsh al‑Hawa checkpoint, the western entrance to Hebron, which resulted in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers and injuries to three others. Army engineers spent at least nine hours inside the homes rigging explosives before detonating them, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed al‑Atrash. After the demolition, troops backed by drones entered the site and detained at least 12 Palestinians. Al‑Atrash said some of those detained were still in custody at the time of his report and that he had monitored their treatment live on air. He also reported that Israeli forces had fully emptied the Ein Deir Bahha neighbourhood, turning some homes into military barracks and command centres, while hundreds of families in the neighbouring al‑Jalda area remained trapped in their homes. The Hebron municipality stated on Tuesday that 4,969 Palestinians from 780 families had been displaced by the offensive. Al‑Atrash added that Israeli forces had arrested at least 120 Palestinians since the operation began and interrogated hundreds more. At least 13 businesses near the checkpoint have been demolished. Israeli officials reportedly threatened to accelerate demolitions in Area C, the part of the West Bank under full Israeli control, in line with measures approved by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after the attack. On Friday, dozens of displaced residents, including women, children and older people, protested near the closed al‑Jalda roundabout, demanding an end to the siege and the right to return home. Raed Nairat, an academic and Israeli affairs expert speaking from Nablus, told Al Jazeera that the operation’s message had been clear “from day one”. He described it as collective punishment aimed at breaking the Palestinians’ will and imposing a price they could not bear, driven by political rather than security aims. Nairat said the operation had turned Palestinian society back to a fragmented state and the West Bank into a military zone ruled by the Israeli army. Hamas described the forced displacement and demolitions in Hebron as part of a systematic campaign targeting the Palestinian presence and called for urgent international action. Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces detained four Palestinians in raids south of Tulkarem. Soldiers and settlers also attacked or drove off olive harvesters in villages near Bethlehem and Nablus. Israeli military and settler attacks across the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, have intensified since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023.