UN raises alarm over displacement
The UN human-rights chief has warned of possible ethnic cleansing linked to Israel’s operation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, putting the number of Palestinians forced from their homes at more than 3,000. Volker Türk described the operation as aggressive and called for it to end, according to France 24.
Türk also said collective punishment was a grave violation of international law. Both the displacement figure and the legal assessment were presented by the UN and were not independently established by worldbeat.
The UN figure is substantially higher than earlier estimates. LBCI had reported that about 1,200 Palestinians were displaced, while the Palestinian Information Center cited local estimates that approximately 250 families had been forced to evacuate homes in the Farsh al-Hawa and Abu Kteila neighborhoods. It said dozens of other residents were displaced elsewhere and that the overall number of affected households remained unclear at that stage.
Operation followed deadly checkpoint attack
The military campaign followed a Friday shooting near Hebron in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. The Palestinian Information Center reported that several other people were wounded and that Israeli forces subsequently killed the two alleged attackers.
Israeli authorities said the military operation could continue for several days. The Palestinian Information Center also reported arrests, demolitions, raids and restrictions on movement during the campaign, attributing details of forced evacuations and alleged mistreatment to local estimates and testimony.