Israel to Seal All West Bank Crossings on Election Day
The Israeli military will close every land crossing in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, when Israel votes, and bar Palestinian workers from entering settlements from today. Hebron remains under blockade. The defence minister says about 2,000 displaced residents will not return until the operation ends.
Israel Katz made the displacement open-ended by ministerial decision rather than court order: “They will not be allowed to return to their neighbourhood until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron.” How many people that covers is disputed. He says about 2,000; the mayor of Hebron says 2,200; an Israeli rights group counts around 240 families cleared from two neighbourhoods, which is broadly compatible with both. The mayor’s reading of the timing is blunt: the city faces “a complete blockade” and the operation is “driven by the elections”, with ministers “attempting to secure the votes of the far right and the settlers”. One thread we have now followed for three editions remains loose. A narrow court order halting demolitions, obtained on Friday by two factory owners, has still not been reported as upheld, lifted or ruled upon by any source we can read. The only new material is one resident’s allegation that it was disregarded — “A court decree was in place that should have prevented any demolition… They demolished and took me out by force” — which is his account and not a finding. More than 100,000 Palestinians held work permits before October 2023.