Israeli demolitions, illegal settler violence tighten grip on Palestinians in Hebron
Bulldozers level shops in Area C of West Bank while illegal settlers, backed by army, defy court order allowing families’ return
HEBRON, Palestine/ISTANBUL
Israeli forces on Monday demolished Palestinian-owned structures in Hebron in the occupied West Bank and stood by as illegal settlers blocked families from reclaiming their land despite a Supreme Court ruling in their favor.
Bulldozers moved into the Anab al-Kabir area near the town of Al-Ramadin, tearing down several commercial buildings. Troops accompanying the demolition fired tear gas canisters at residents who tried to resist, leaving many suffering from suffocation, witnesses said.
The area lies within the so-called “Area C,” which makes up about 60% of the West Bank and remains under full Israeli control. Rights groups say Palestinians are almost never granted building permits there, making demolitions a routine tool of displacement.
Elsewhere in Hebron, illegal settlers, backed by the army, stopped families from returning to their homes in the Bedouin community of Joura al-Kheil near Sa’ir. The residents had been expelled last November after repeated illegal settler attacks but won a court ruling in March ordering their reinstatement.
“Instead of securing the families’ return, the army declared the area a closed military zone and shielded illegal settlers who physically assaulted residents,” said Sa’ir Mayor Musa al-Faroukh.
The twin incidents highlight what Palestinians describe as an intensifying campaign of land grabs and forced displacement across the West Bank, running in parallel to Israel’s war in Gaza. Since October 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
A report by the Palestinian Anti-Wall and Settlement Commission said illegal settlers carried out 466 attacks in July alone, killing four people and forcibly uprooting two Bedouin communities comprising 50 families.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in an advisory opinion, urging the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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