The Israeli military and security service launched new operations in the West Bank targeting Hebron. Since October 2023, Israel has tightened its apartheid rule over the occupied territory and accelerated the process of expelling Palestinians from their land.
On Monday, the IDF and Shin Bet issued a joint statement that military operations had begun in the Jebel Johar area of Hebron. They claim the target of Israeli raids will be terrorists and the operations will last several days.
Journalists on the ground report that Israel is further partitioning Hebron. “They brought in iron gates a short while ago, and this is the dangerous part,” Al Jazeera Arabic’s Montaser Nassar said. “It seems that what is happening on the ground is a prelude to dividing the already divided.”
Nassar described the operation as the largest Israeli military presence in Hebron since the Second Intifada.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has conducted military operations across the West Bank over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. Additionally, tens of thousands have been removed from their homes. In Jenin, over half of all buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
At the same time, Tel Aviv has accelerated the process of Israeli settlement of the West Bank. Israeli Finance Minister Betzel Smotrich has said that Tel Aviv’s goal is to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state and annex the West Bank.
