PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY CALLS FOR PRESSURE ON ISRAEL OVER HEBRON DISPLACEMENTS

The Palestinian Authority called on Saturday for international pressure on Israel after Israeli forces ordered Palestinians to leave their homes in Hebron. Estimates of the number displaced range from around 1,200 to more than 1,500. The orders followed a Friday attack in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint near the West Bank city. The Israeli military said its forces shot dead both gunmen.

The Israeli military said it was searching for armed people and weapons in the Al-Jaladah and Ein Deir Baha neighbourhoods near the checkpoint. It also said it would carry out demolitions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the military would launch a large-scale operation after the soldiers’ deaths. Yousef Zouhair Al-Jabari, the head of Hebron’s municipality, said another 1,300 people faced losing their homes.

The Palestinian Authority described the operation as “collective punishment” and called for measures to protect Palestinians. “The growing threats to expand the scope of forced displacement and destruction requires urgent international action that goes beyond condemnation to adopt tangible and deterrent measures,” its foreign ministry said. Al-Jabari said he believed the operations were linked to Tuesday’s parliamentary elections and Netanyahu’s efforts to win votes from settlers. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said Israeli forces arrested around 70 Palestinians on Friday and Saturday. Israeli officials had not commented on the reported arrests.