After 10 days of displacement and siege, hundreds of Palestinian families returned to their homes in the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday following the withdrawal of Israeli forces that had forcibly evicted them. The return took place amid fears of renewed military operations and continued tight security measures.
اضافة اعلان
Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin confirmed that Israeli forces had completed their withdrawal from the city, a move also confirmed by the Palestinian military liaison office. He said families who had been forced to evacuate their homes were now allowed to return.
Dudin said relevant authorities and security agencies were monitoring developments on the ground and working to provide the necessary assistance to ensure residents could return safely and securely.
Israeli forces had imposed a siege and military closure on neighborhoods in northern Hebron for 10 days, forcing hundreds of families to leave their homes. They also demolished two houses belonging to individuals accused of carrying out the latest shooting attack and imposed strict restrictions on residents’ movement.
The military operation had wide-ranging humanitarian and economic consequences, affecting displaced families and businesses in the targeted areas. Families began returning while assessing the extent of damage to their homes and property and waiting for normal life to resume in the affected neighborhoods, according to Palestinian reports.
The developments come amid a rise in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank. They carried out 3,133 attacks last month, an increase of 52.8% compared with September, when 2,051 attacks were recorded, according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
The commission said Israeli forces carried out 1,764 attacks, while settlers carried out 1,369. It noted that settler attacks alone rose by 111.6%, from 647 in September to 1,369 last month.
The commission linked the escalation to the olive harvest season, during which farmers, their land and crops were repeatedly targeted. It said such attacks undermine one of the main pillars of Palestinian resilience: people’s connection to their land and sources of livelihood.
It stressed that the danger of these attacks lies not only in their number, but also in the variety and interconnected nature of the methods used, ranging from direct attacks on Palestinians and the destruction of property and crops to restricting access to farmland, imposing closures, establishing settlement outposts, demolishing structures and issuing military orders. These measures increase pressure on residents and undermine their ability to remain on their land.
According to commission data, attacks on trees and crops affected 5,890 trees last month, including 4,498 olive trees. The commission also documented 165 cases of olive theft, as well as theft and seizure of agricultural equipment and private property.
It said targeting crops, livestock and agricultural equipment imposes additional economic burdens on Palestinians, particularly in rural areas, and limits their ability to cultivate and benefit from their land.
Meanwhile, settlers attempted to establish 28 new settlement outposts, which the commission said were part of efforts to expand control over Palestinian land. These efforts have been accompanied by political, military and planning measures by Israeli institutions aimed at establishing new realities on the ground and ensuring their continuation.
Land Seizures and Demolition of Structures
As an indication of the widening scope of the targeting, Israeli authorities seized approximately 229,561 dunams of Palestinian land and demolished 129 structures. Jerusalem Governorate recorded the highest number of demolitions, with 46 structures destroyed.
The demolitions directly affected at least 220 Palestinians, including 125 children and 45 women. Jerusalem was again the most affected governorate, with 99 people impacted.
The commission said the demolition policy aims to undermine Palestinians’ living conditions and their ability to develop naturally, particularly in areas surrounded by settlements, settlement projects and bypass roads. Planning restrictions and demolition notices, it said, are being used to limit Palestinian urban expansion while expanding areas under Israeli control.
This coincided with settlement plans involving the construction of 1,629 new housing units and the advancement of 10 settlement plans in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem. Five of the plans are structural plans, three of which have been approved and include 475 settlement units covering 14.501 dunams.
The commission said the simultaneous issuance of tenders, approval of plans and submission of new plans reflects the continuation of successive stages of settlement expansion, beginning with planning and land reclassification, followed by project marketing and the provision of infrastructure needed for implementation.
It added that these measures seek to connect settlement blocs and strengthen their population and service networks while fragmenting Palestinian territory and undermining geographical continuity between Palestinian communities.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission stressed that the data reveal an escalation in attacks and their integration with military operations, land seizures, demolitions and settlement expansion, accelerating efforts to impose new realities on Palestinian land.
It called for serious international action, including practical measures to halt the attacks, protect Palestinians and hold those responsible accountable, as well as ending forms of support and facilitation for the settlement project in the Palestinian territories.
Source: Al-Ghad
