Why Israel’s latest assault on Hebron is so significant for the West Bank

Israeli military campaigns in Hebron trigger mass displacement and economic strangulation, deepening a humanitarian crisis across the occupied West Bank.

Families in Hebron take advantage of the temporary lifting of a curfew on January 21, 2026, to leave for other parts of the city or other Palestinian towns, fearing the continuation of a military operation that involved hundreds of Israeli soldiers [Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Getty Images]

Palestinians in Hebron have been subjected to days of Israeli raids and forced displacement in the latest assault on the occupied West Bank city.

Israel has imposed a lockdown on Palestinians and detained at least 47 Palestinians across Hebron since Friday, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

list 1 of 3 Bots, deepfakes and surveillance: Israel’s election goes to war online

list 2 of 3 Israel to close occupied West Bank crossings as it locks down Hebron

list 3 of 3 Israeli forces turn Hebron homes into military posts amid lockdown

About 2,500 people have been forced out of the city as some Palestinian homes have been converted into military posts and barracks .

The operations followed a shooting attack on Friday that killed two soldiers while the two Palestinian suspects were also killed.

Here is what to know about Israel’s latest assault on Hebron:

Mass forced expulsions

Hebron has been subject to severe collective punishment by Israeli forces that has impacted about 900,000 Palestinians.

The military lockdown began immediately after a Friday morning shooting at a military checkpoint in the Farsh al-Hawa area.

After the closure of all entrances to the city, Israeli forces launched a large demolition operation on dozens of Palestinian buildings.

Troops also stormed the Ein Deir Bahha neighbourhood, forcing dozens of families to flee from their homes at night without any belongings. According to Hebron municipality data, the targeted displacement area covers 350 dunams (35 hectares or 86 acres), and nearly 500 Palestinian families have been uprooted.

Hesham al-Sharbati, a human rights researcher, told Al Jazeera that the military’s actions represent “a complete eviction campaign for a Palestinian residential neighbourhood”. He said what is happening is “a form of ethnic cleansing” and the collective punishment of the Palestinian community “amounts to a war crime”.

Moamar Yousef al-Awiwi, a Hebron municipal council member, said the latest Israeli operation in the city comes after a series of measures aimed at displacing the Palestinian population.

“[It] serves as a crime and collective punishment contrary to all international customs and laws,” he told Al Jazeera.

Rights groups have compared the current assault on Hebron to the tactics used during the January 2025 “Iron Wall” operation in the Jenin and Nur Shams refugee camps , which displaced more than 30,000 people and destroyed over half of their residential buildings.

Economic strangulation

Hebron is an important city for the Palestinian economy, which is in the midst of a severe crisis caused by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and pogroms and raids by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank.

Hebron accounts for about 40 percent of Palestinian industrial output and 30 percent of exports, but economic activity has been badly affected by recent Israeli restrictions and assaults.

Hebron has the highest concentration of military obstacles in the West Bank with about 40 percent of the 89 main checkpoints in the occupied territory concentrated in the city’s most highly restricted zones.

Economic researcher Ahmed Abu Qamar said the current restrictions on Hebron will be felt widely due to the city’s economic significance for the West Bank.

“Hebron… [is a] first-class industrial city and is considered one of the most important pillars and foundations of the Palestinian economy regarding [its] broad industrial and commercial base,” Abu Qamar told Al Jazeera. “Any restrictions imposed on it or any closures of its outlets or restrictions on freedom of movement … or military operation[s] will put pressure on the entire Palestinian economy in the West Bank.”

Restrictions on trade and business activity in Hebron lead to “a rise in production costs due to the difficulty of supply and logistical disruption” with businesses likely to miss delivery deadlines.

“Ultimately, the halting of facilities or reducing production lines … [means] many economic facilities will be forced to either completely stop working or reduce their working hours to the minimum,” he added.

City centre settlers

The daily life of Palestinians in Hebron is also badly affected by the hundreds of Israeli settlers in the Old City.

Under the 1997 Hebron Protocol, Hebron was divided into two sectors: H1, supposedly under Palestinian civil control, and H2, representing 20 percent of the city. The latter was to remain under complete Israeli security control with 7,000 Palestinians living there subject to the strict dictates of the military apparatus.

Israeli authorities have systematically expanded “closed zones” around settlements in the city centre, which are illegal under international law. In early October, Israeli authorities installed three iron gates across a 200-metre (220-yard) stretch of the Old City, further cutting off historical commercial arteries, such as Shuhada Street, where more than 500 shops have been forcibly shuttered over the years.

Over the winter, many Palestinian residents are forced to navigate dangerous, unlit paths through local cemeteries just to bypass military closures and bag searches.

Religious site tensions

At the epicentre of the H2 zone lies the Ibrahimi Mosque, revered by Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Tomb of the Patriarchs. This 14th-century site is part of the Old City, which UNESCO has recognised as a World Heritage Site, and has been subject to numerous assaults by Israeli settlers.

In 1994, an American-Israeli settler opened fire with an automatic assault rifle inside the sanctuary, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and prompting the Israeli military to permanently partition the holy site and severely restrict Palestinian access to surrounding neighbourhoods.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the seizure of planning and construction powers over the mosque and the surrounding H2 zone, stripping the Palestinian municipality of its oversight.

In doing so, Smotrich declared he had abolished vital parts of the 1997 Hebron Agreement , marking a dramatic shift that further entrenches the occupation in the city.

以色列在希伯伦的军事行动引发大规模流离失所和经济困境，加剧了被占领的西岸地区的人道主义危机。

2026年1月21日，希伯伦暂时解除宵禁，当地居民趁机离开，前往该市其他地区或其他巴勒斯坦城镇，因为他们担心以色列数百名士兵将继续进行军事行动。[Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Getty Images]

在以色列对被占领的西岸城市希伯伦的最新一次袭击中，当地巴勒斯坦人已经连续数日遭受以色列的袭击和强迫流离失所。

据巴勒斯坦囚犯协会称，自周五以来，以色列对希伯伦的巴勒斯坦人实施了封锁，并拘留了至少 47 名巴勒斯坦人。

列表 1/3：机器人、深度伪造和监控：以色列大选在网上爆发战争

以色列封锁希伯伦，关闭被占领的西岸过境点（共3条记录中的第2条）

以色列军队在封锁期间将希伯伦的民宅改造成军事哨所（共3条记录，此为第3条）

由于一些巴勒斯坦人的房屋被改造成军事哨所和营房，约有 2500 人被迫离开这座城市。

此次行动源于周五发生的一起枪击事件，该事件造成两名士兵死亡，两名巴勒斯坦嫌疑人也被击毙。

以下是关于以色列最近对希伯伦发动的袭击需要了解的信息：

大规模强制驱逐

希伯伦遭受了以色列军队的严厉集体惩罚，约有 90 万巴勒斯坦人受到影响。

周五上午，法尔什哈瓦地区的一个军事检查站发生枪击事件后，军方立即实施了封锁。

在封锁了所有通往该市的入口后，以色列军队对数十座巴勒斯坦建筑物展开了大规模拆除行动。

军队还突袭了艾因代尔巴哈社区，迫使数十个家庭在夜间逃离家园，身无分文。根据希伯伦市政府的数据，此次流离失所的目标区域占地350杜纳姆（35公顷或86英亩），近500个巴勒斯坦家庭被迫流离失所。

人权研究员希沙姆·沙尔巴蒂告诉半岛电视台，军方的行动是对巴勒斯坦居民区的“彻底驱逐”。他说，这“是一种种族清洗”，对巴勒斯坦社区的集体惩罚“构成战争罪”。

希伯伦市议会成员穆阿迈尔·优素福·阿维维表示，以色列在该市的最新军事行动是在一系列旨在驱逐巴勒斯坦人口的措施之后进行的。

“这构成犯罪，是对国际惯例和法律的集体惩罚，”他告诉半岛电视台。

人权组织将目前对希伯伦的袭击与 2025 年 1 月在杰宁和努尔沙姆斯难民营实施的“铁墙”行动中使用的策略进行了比较，该行动导致 3 万多人流离失所，并摧毁了他们一半以上的住宅建筑。

经济扼杀

希伯伦是巴勒斯坦经济的重要城市，而巴勒斯坦经济正处于以色列对加沙发动种族灭绝战争以及以色列军队和定居者在西岸进行大屠杀和袭击所造成的严重危机之中。

希伯伦约占巴勒斯坦工业产值的 40% 和出口额的 30%，但近期以色列的限制和袭击严重影响了当地的经济活动。

希伯伦是西岸军事障碍最集中的城市，被占领土上 89 个主要检查站中约有 40% 集中在该市限制最严格的区域。

经济研究员艾哈迈德·阿布·卡马尔表示，由于希伯伦市对西岸的经济意义重大，目前对希伯伦的限制措施将产生广泛的影响。

阿布·卡马尔告诉半岛电视台：“希伯伦……是一座一流的工业城市，其庞大的工商业基础使其成为巴勒斯坦经济最重要的支柱和基石之一。任何对其施加的限制，例如关闭其门店、限制人员流动……或军事行动，都将对整个西岸巴勒斯坦经济造成压力。”

希伯伦的贸易和商业活动受到限制，导致“供应困难和物流中断，生产成本上升”，企业很可能无法按时交货。

“最终，停工停产或生产线缩减……意味着许多经济设施将被迫完全停止运转或将工作时间减少到最低限度，”他补充道。

市中心定居者

希伯伦老城数百名以色列定居者也严重影响了巴勒斯坦人的日常生活。

根据1997年《希伯伦议定书》，希伯伦被划分为两个区域：H1区，名义上由巴勒斯坦民事部门控制；H2区，占该市面积的20%，完全由以色列安全部门控制，7000名巴勒斯坦人居住于此，并受制于以色列军方的严格命令。

以色列当局有计划地扩大了市中心定居点周围的“封闭区”，这些定居点违反了国际法。10月初，以色列当局在老城一段200米（220码）长的路段上安装了三道铁门，进一步切断了历史悠久的商业干道，例如舒哈达街，多年来，这条街上已有500多家店铺被迫关闭。

冬季期间，许多巴勒斯坦居民被迫穿过当地墓地，沿着危险的、没有路灯的小路行进，以绕过军事封锁和行李检查。

宗教场所紧张局势

在H2区的中心地带坐落着伊布拉希米清真寺，这座清真寺深受穆斯林和犹太人的尊崇，犹太人称之为“先祖陵墓”。这座建于14世纪的遗址是老城的一部分，老城已被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产，并曾多次遭到以色列定居者的袭击。

1994 年，一名美籍以色列定居者在圣殿内用自动突击步枪开火，造成 29 名巴勒斯坦信徒死亡，促使以色列军方永久隔离该圣地，并严格限制巴勒斯坦人进入周边社区。

以色列财政部长贝扎莱尔·斯莫特里奇宣布接管清真寺及其周边 H2 区的规划和建设权，剥夺了巴勒斯坦市政当局的监管权。

斯莫特里奇宣布废除了 1997 年希伯伦协议的重要部分，这标志着局势发生了戏剧性的转变，进一步巩固了对该市的占领。