The Israeli military forced around 2,000 Palestinians to leave their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, Israeli defense minister Israel Katz confirmed Saturday in an interview with public broadcaster, Kan – a day after a Palestinian attack killed two Israeli soldiers.
"They will not be allowed to return to their neighborhood until we've finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron," Katz added.
An earlier estimation by a Palestinian official said on Saturday had put the figure at 1,200 displacements, while Yousef Zouhair Al-Jabari, head of Hebron's municipality estimated another 1,300 would face losing their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said the military would launch a large-scale operation after the soldiers were killed when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint near the city. The Israeli military said the gunmen were shot dead.
They also said the operation in the Al-Jaladah and Ein Deir Baha neighborhoods near the military checkpoint at the entrance of Hebron was to search for militants and weapons. In a statement, it also said the military would carry out demolitions.
The Palestinian Authority criticized the operation as a "collective punishment" and called on Saturday for international pressure on Israel to protect Palestinians following the displacements.
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