On a Friday shootout in the occupied West Bank left two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen dead, Israeli troops moved into the Deir Baha neighborhood of Hebron and ordered more than 3,000 residents, among them 200 babies, to leave their homes. The episode is one more chapter in a long contest over land, security and dispossession, and it is unfolding just days before an Israeli election that could end Netanyahu's premiership. UN leaders have named the operation as collective punishment and warned of ethnic cleansing, while Israel insists it is a necessary effort to dismantle militant
UN Leaders Condemn Israel's Hebron Operation as Thousands Are Displaced Before Election
Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen were killed and three Israeli soldiers injured in the Friday shootout, and more than 3,000 Palestinians, including 200 babies, were ordered to leave their homes during the Hebron operation.
More than 3,000 people, including 200 babies, were ordered to leave
Mark
Start with the basic fact. What actually happened in Deir Baha?
Mimi
After Friday's shootout, in which two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen died, troops entered the neighborhood where the gunmen lived and told residents to leave. The Hebron municipality says more than 3,000 people were ordered out, including 200 babies.
Mark
And the UN's reaction?
Mimi
Guterres spoke of evictions and a coercive environment, and Türk called it collective punishment, a grave violation of international law. Both raised the concern of ethnic cleansing.
Luke
Careful there. Türk said threats to empty neighborhoods raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing. That is a warning, not a finding. And the 3,000 figure comes from the Hebron municipality, not an independent count.
Mark
Fair. What does Israel say?
Mimi
The military says it is conducting targeted searches for weapons and what it calls terrorist infrastructure, and questioning suspects. The Foreign Ministry dismissed the separate UN war crimes report as propaganda.
Luke
Worth noting the report's contents aren't detailed in this coverage, so we know the accusation and the rejection, not the evidence between them.
Mark
Then there's the election.
Mimi
It's Tuesday, and it could end Netanyahu's premiership. The reporting notes the timing, and that he casts himself as the guardian of security.
Luke
But it doesn't say the operation was ordered because of the election. The timing is a fact; the motive is not established.
Mark
So what's still unknown?
Luke
How many homes are actually demolished, where the displaced are staying, and how long it lasts. The military only says several days.
Le Pouls
- Over 3,000 people, including 200 babies, were ordered out of Deir Baha within days of a deadly Friday shootout.
- UN Secretary General Guterres and rights chief Türk have condemned the operation as collective punishment and warned of possible ethnic cleansing.
- Israel's Foreign Ministry dismissed the UN report as propaganda, insisting the operation targets terror infrastructure and weapons.
- The military says the searches will run for several days, with homes and buildings slated for demolition across Hebron.
- Everything now turns on Tuesday's election, which could decide whether Netanyahu's government sets the operation's final scale.
On a Friday shootout in the occupied West Bank left two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen dead, Israeli troops moved into the Deir Baha neighborhood of Hebron and ordered more than 3,000 residents, among them 200 babies, to leave their homes. The episode is one more chapter in a long contest over land, security and dispossession, and it is unfolding just days before an Israeli election that could end Netanyahu's premiership. UN leaders have named the operation as collective punishment and warned of ethnic cleansing, while Israel insists it is a necessary effort to dismantle militant infrastructure and defend its citizens.
Israeli troops entered the Deir Baha neighborhood of Hebron over the weekend and told residents to pack up and leave. According to the Hebron municipality, more than 3,000 people were ordered out, among them 200 babies. The order followed a Friday shootout in the occupied West Bank that killed two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen and wounded three more soldiers. Deir Baha is where the assailants lived, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by ordering demolitions in Hebron and tighter closures across the West Bank.
The military describes the work as precise and targeted searches to dismantle what it calls terrorist infrastructure, locate weapons and question suspects, with the operation expected to last several days and focus on Deir Baha.
On Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres wrote that settlements are expanding, evictions are relentless and the threat of ethnic cleansing grows. Volker Türk, the UN human rights chief, called the operation aggressive, said it had forcibly displaced thousands, demolished homes and businesses, and warned that collective punishment is a grave violation of international law. The same day, a UN report accused Israel of war crimes in the West Bank. Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected it as propaganda detached from reality and said it aimed to undermine Israel's right to self-defense.
The timing is inseparable from politics. Israel votes on Tuesday, and the result could end Netanyahu's time as prime minister. Until the votes are counted, the fate of those removed from Deir Baha and of the buildings marked for demolition remains open.
Israeli troops went into the Deir Baha neighborhood of Hebron over the weekend and told the people living there to pack up and leave. According to the Hebron municipality, more than 3,000 residents were ordered out, among them 200 babies. On Monday, the two most senior UN officials on these matters publicly condemned what was happening.
The operation began after a shootout on Friday in the occupied West Bank. Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen were killed, and three more Israeli soldiers were wounded. Deir Baha is where the assailants lived. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by ordering the military to demolish buildings in Hebron and to close off the West Bank.
The Israeli military described its work in Hebron as precise, targeted and thorough searches. Its stated aim was to find and dismantle what it called terrorist infrastructure, locate weapons, and question suspects. It said the operation would run for several days and concentrate on Deir Baha.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres answered in a post on X on Monday. He wrote that settlements are expanding and evictions are unrelenting, with Palestinians driven from their lands. He described an increasingly coercive environment in which the spectre of ethnic cleansing looms ever larger.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement of his own. He called the operation aggressive and said it had forcibly displaced thousands of Palestinians, demolished homes and commercial property, and stripped residents of the ability to move freely. Collective punishment, he said, is a grave violation of international law, and threats to empty and erase entire neighborhoods raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.
Also on Monday, the UN released a report accusing Israel of committing war crimes in the West Bank. Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected it outright, calling it not a human rights report but a propaganda document detached from reality. The ministry said the report aimed to undermine Israel's right to self-defense, delegitimize the Jewish state, and legitimize jihadist terrorism against its citizens.
The timing is hard to separate from politics. Israel holds a general election on Tuesday, and the vote could end Netanyahu's time as prime minister. He has often presented himself as the only leader able to keep Israel safe, while his opponents accuse him of having no plan.
With the military saying the operation will continue for days, what happens to the thousands removed from Deir Baha, and to the buildings ordered demolished, will unfold after the votes are counted.
Citations marquantes
Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law.— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
The UN report is not a human rights report but a propaganda document detached from reality.— Israeli Foreign Ministry
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