Israel’s military said on Monday that it had ended its siege of Hebron and withdrawn all its soldiers from the city in the occupied West Bank. A military commander told AFP that operations in the area were complete, bringing the 10-day siege to an end.
The operation began after an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, less than two weeks earlier and days before Israel’s October 27 parliamentary election. More than 3,000 Palestinians from nearly 500 families were forced to leave their homes during the offensive. The military commander said Israeli forces seized four weapons and several bulletproof vests.
Residents returning home told AFP they found some properties in disarray. Muhanad al-Tamimi, a 33-year-old shopkeeper, said his home had been turned upside down, with furniture and clothes scattered across the floor and mattresses pulled from the beds. He said Israeli soldiers had used the property as a base. Crosses painted on the fronts of buildings in the evacuated neighborhood marked homes that troops had entered and searched, according to the report.
During the incursion, Israeli forces demolished the homes of the two men who carried out the attack. The report describes home demolitions as a practice used by Israeli forces after such attacks.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the operation and warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Guterres said the increasingly coercive environment was making that threat more visible and called for it to end.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II also said on Monday that security in the Middle East would remain out of reach unless Palestinians’ right to a state was respected. Speaking at the opening of parliament, he criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. Jordan borders Israel and the occupied West Bank, supports a two-state solution and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
The siege ended days after Israel’s parliamentary election. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s party won the most votes and 53 seats, but fell short of a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Parties opposed to Netanyahu with a predominantly Jewish electorate won 48 seats, while the Arab-majority Ra’am and Joint List parties secured 19 between them.
Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated on Saturday to urge the opposition to work with Arab parties to remove Netanyahu from power. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot had not decided whether to accept such an alliance, according to the report. It also noted the risk of renewed regional conflict, with Iran threatening retaliation if the United States and Israel attack it again.
Sources: Folha Mundo.