UN raises ‘ethnic cleansing’ concerns over Israel’s Hebron operation

By AFP Today, 7:46 pm

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An Israeli bulldozer is seen on a street that has been apparently been blocked by Israeli security forces using cars owned by Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron on October 25, 2026. (HAZEM BADER/AFP)

Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Hebron, launched after a deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen, raises serious concerns of “ethnic cleansing,” the United Nations warns.

The municipality in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city, said in a statement that 3,189 people had been forced from their homes by the ongoing operation.

It followed Friday’s attack in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers at a checkpoint near the city. The gunmen were killed in a shootout.

Israeli troops entered the Hebron neighborhood of Ein Deir Baha, where the two assailants lived, and ordered residents to pack up and leave.

Israel’s “aggressive operation” has already resulted in the forcible displacement of thousands of Palestinians, “demolished homes and commercial property, and deprived residents of the ability to move freely,” UN rights chief Volker Turk says in a statement.

“The sweeping steps taken raise grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force — which must end.”

He says the lockdown is confining many to their homes and immediate neighborhoods.

“Declarations by senior Israeli government officials indicate that the measures implemented are punitive in nature and designed to instill fear. This is unacceptable,” says Turk.

“Those who have been displaced must be allowed to return home. Israel must ensure compensation and reparation for unlawful evictions and demolitions, and associated displacement.

“Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law. Threats to empty and erase entire neighborhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.”

The IDF said Friday that the operation in Hebron was expected to last several days and was “focused and limited to the area from which the terrorists operated.”

Speaking earlier in Cairo, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply alarmed by Israeli actions in the West Bank.

“Evictions are unrelenting with Palestinians driven from their lands. Settler violence is surging,” he said. “We are seeing an increasingly coercive environment, with the specter of ethnic cleansing looming ever larger. This must end.”