Israel's Hebron Operation Displaces Over 3,000 Palestinians Days Before Israeli Election

Israeli forces have displaced more than 3,000 Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank city of Hebron since Friday, the Hebron municipality said Monday, putting the figure at 3,189. The operation followed a Friday gun attack at a checkpoint near the city in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers; the gunmen were killed in a shootout. Israeli troops entered Ein Deir Baha, where the attackers lived, and ordered residents to leave. The city of about 250,000 has been sealed, and Hebron Mayor Yousef Zuhair Al-Jabari said the blockade has affected every aspect of life. The Israeli military said it operated in more than 400 locations over the weekend and arrested 40 Palestinians it said were tied to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It also said most permit-holding Palestinian workers would be barred from Israeli settlements Sunday and Monday, and crossings into Israel would stay closed until after Tuesday's election. UN rights chief Volker Turk said Monday the operation must end, calling collective punishment a grave violation of international law and raising concerns of ethnic cleansing.

Left-leaning outlets frame the operation around the election. CBS News leads with movement restrictions, using the military's figures on locations and arrests, municipal displacement counts and the mayor's quote. The Guardian's headline uses the words "collective punishment" and focuses on Netanyahu and Smotrich's televised visits, their vows of retribution, the flattened Farsh al-Hawa industrial area and families emptied from Ein Deir Baha. It also notes the governing coalition is narrowly trailing. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had. France 24 adds a distinct angle by leading with the UN warning. Truthout's coverage resembles the left's, with a headline that says Netanyahu is extending an assault ahead of the election.