West Bank Conflict: Hebron Lockdown and Olive Harvest Violence

The Israeli election campaign has entered its final phase, with polls opening this week in what is being described as one of the most consequential votes in recent years. For many Palestinians in the West Bank, the political contest is overshadowed by a tightening military grip, most visibly in the city of Hebron.

Hebron has been under a complete closure since Friday, when two gunmen opened fire at an army checkpoint near the city’s northern entrance. The attack killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the area isolated, stating that troops would search house to house in the targeted neighborhoods. He declared the intent to destroy the area and change it completely.

The operation has resulted in mass displacement. By Monday, the fourth day of the closure, Hebron Municipality data cited by the Wafa news agency indicated that 3,171 Palestinians from 488 families had been forced from their homes. Governor Khaled Dudin reported that Israeli forces searched more than 500 homes, arrested over 70 people, and established 128 closed gates and 120 checkpoints across the city.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said residents would not be permitted to return until all Hamas issues in Hebron were resolved. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society noted that the displaced group includes 127 infants, 81 pregnant women, and 26 people with disabilities. Bulldozers destroyed a three-apartment building belonging to Riyad Amrish, along with a tile factory and other businesses in the Farsh al-Hawa neighborhood, a move attributed to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich by Channel 12.

Beyond Hebron, multiple communities face sieges of varying scale. In Masafer Yatta, the family of Yusuf Shanaran has been under a three-week siege by settlers, unable to leave or receive aid without army coordination. In Umm Safa, a house built in 1954 faces a demolition order with a November 11 deadline after months of being blocked by a gate. In Madama, south of Nablus, a two-week siege of four entrances has just ended, leaving heavy restrictions at the northern entrance where a kindergarten principal must lift children over the barrier.

The olive harvest season has brought a surge in violence, with the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission counting 482 attacks by Sunday across nine governorates. Settlers have stolen olives and equipment in at least a dozen villages, including Sinjil and Kafr Malek. Assaults occurred in at least 15 locations, with farmers in Burin suffering head wounds from stones and pickers in Beit Iksa being pepper-sprayed.

Detentions and expulsions have affected at least a dozen places. Fifteen farmers were detained in as-Sawiya on Sunday, while Mohammed al-Kiswani was detained in Beit Iksa after being pepper-sprayed. In Deir Jarir and Turmus Aya, land was declared a closed military zone without formal orders, a move documented by far-right influencers filming for campaign content.

Damage to olive trees has been reported in at least 10 locations. Settlers burned dozens of trees in Burqa on Friday, keeping Civil Defence crews at bay, while a bulldozer uprooted hundreds in Madama. In Deir Qaddis, soldiers uprooted dozens of trees to make way for a settler road, and a notice at al-Mughayyir ordered the removal of hundreds of trees for a security buffer zone.

Arson attacks have targeted both homes and memorials. In Burqa, settlers set fire to a memorial for residents killed in the conflict, followed an hour later by the home of Jamal Bajes, a Palestinian-American, for the second time in recent months. Solidarity volunteers were also targeted, with US Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander among 80 detained near Nahalin on Wednesday.

In Gaza, the conflict continues with at least 37 Palestinians killed in the last week. The Gaza Ministry of Health recorded 11 deaths on Monday, adding to a cumulative toll of 74,555 since the start of the war. Hunger has worsened with crossings shut, causing flour stocks to run out and leaving only seven of 20 commercial bakeries open. A tray of eggs reached 60 shekels, or 19.50 dollars, before pressure eased slightly on October 23 as commercial goods began to resume.