Israel pulls forces out of occupied West Bank city of Hebron

Israeli forces left the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Monday after a week-long raid. The withdrawal followed what an Israeli military official called the completion of all operational activities. The move allowed displaced residents to begin returning to their homes.

Residents had not left voluntarily. They were forcibly evacuated during the raid, which Israel described as a search for gunmen. The military said those gunmen had killed two soldiers. AFP journalists witnessed people going back to their houses after the withdrawal.

The return marks an immediate change in residents’ access to their homes, but it does not mean military activity has ended across the wider territory. The Israeli official said counterterrorism activities would continue throughout Judea and Samaria, Israel’s biblical name for the West Bank. The article gives no further details about property damage or arrests.

Hebron is a major city in the southern West Bank. It is located in the Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River, near the southern part of the West Bank. The article identifies it as an occupied West Bank city and notes that Israel calls the territory Judea and Samaria.

The city has deep religious importance for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. It is associated with the Tomb of the Patriarchs, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque, a site revered by both Jews and Muslims. That shared significance has made Hebron especially sensitive and contested.

Hebron’s location also places it within the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The article reports an Israeli raid, the evacuation of Palestinian residents, and a subsequent withdrawal. It does not provide the city’s population, exact coordinates, or detailed political history.

The article says thousands of Palestinian residents were displaced during the week-long raid in Hebron. It does not provide a precise figure, so the scale can only be stated as thousands rather than a specific total. That distinction matters because the human impact was large, but the available report does not support a more exact count.

The displacement happened after residents were forcibly evacuated from their homes. AFP journalists witnessed residents returning on Monday, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Their return shows that the evacuation had affected access to homes across the area of operations.

The immediate number of displaced people may change as residents return, but the article does not say how many had gone back or whether all could return. It also gives no details about injuries, property damage, shelter, or other humanitarian effects. The confirmed figure remains an imprecise “thousands.”

The Israeli military said the raid was conducted to find gunmen blamed for killing two soldiers. That explanation was provided as the stated operational reason for forcibly evacuating residents and searching the area. The article does not identify the gunmen or describe the attack in further detail.

The military framed the operation as counterterrorism activity. After the withdrawal, an Israeli military official said that all operational activities in the Hebron area had been completed. The official also said similar activities would continue throughout Judea and Samaria, Israel’s biblical name for the West Bank.

This means the withdrawal ended the reported operation in that specific area, according to the military, but did not signal an end to wider Israeli security operations. The article records the military’s stated rationale. It does not independently establish who carried out the soldiers’ killing or whether anyone was arrested.

A forcible evacuation removes residents from their homes without their consent. It can interrupt family life, work, schooling, medical care, and access to food or personal belongings. Military restrictions can also make it difficult for people to know when they may safely return.

In Hebron, AFP journalists saw residents returning after Israeli forces withdrew. This illustrates the basic mechanism: withdrawal removes the immediate barrier to entry, allowing people to regain access to houses from which they had been evacuated. The article does not report whether homes were damaged, searched, or looted.

The immediate consequences therefore include displacement during the raid and renewed access afterward. The longer effects depend on the condition of homes, missing belongings, and whether further restrictions follow. The Israeli military said counterterrorism activities continued throughout the West Bank, so residents could still face wider security operations even after returning.

Hebron is especially contested because it is home to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, or Ibrahimi Mosque, a site sacred to Jews and Muslims. The city also contains a long-established Palestinian population alongside Israeli settlers. These religious, national, and security claims overlap in a tightly divided urban area.

Under the 1997 agreement known as the Hebron Protocol, the city was divided into two zones. H1, covering most of Hebron, was placed under Palestinian Authority control. H2, including the Old City and the sacred site, remained under Israeli security control, while limited Palestinian civil authority continued in parts of it.

This arrangement creates separate authorities and movement restrictions within one city. The article’s reported raid occurred in the occupied West Bank city and displaced thousands. It does not specify whether the operation took place in H1, H2, or both, so its precise location within Hebron’s divided structure is not established here.

In international law, occupation exists when a state exercises effective control over territory without having sovereign title to it. Describing the West Bank as occupied therefore distinguishes military control from lawful ownership or annexation. The designation carries duties under the Hague Regulations and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

An occupying power must protect civilians, maintain public order and basic services where possible, and respect existing laws unless security needs make changes necessary. It must treat people humanely and may not carry out collective punishment, unlawful deportation or forcible transfer, or permanent annexation through the occupation. Security operations must also follow rules on distinction and proportionality.

These rules matter in Hebron because residents were forcibly evacuated during a military raid and later returned after withdrawal. The article reports the military’s stated security reason, but it does not assess legality. Any legal judgment would require facts about the evacuation, military conduct, and conditions on the ground.