Rights group urges global pressure to halt Israel’s planned expulsions in Hebron

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has called for international pressure to stop Israel from forcibly displacing Palestinians in response to Friday’s attack on Israeli soldiers near the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. “Israeli leaders are publicly announcing plans for collective punishment and acts that could constitute war crimes,” B’Tselem said. The rights group stated that it “urgently calls on governments and international institutions to act now, using all means available under international law, to prevent the forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians, collective punishment and extensive unlawful destruction in Hebron”. Netanyahu said on Friday that an army operation on a scale unseen since 1967 was “on the way”, with a first phase involving the forced displacement of Palestinians, home searches and the destruction of what he called “terrorist infrastructure”. He also said the military would “destroy” the Hebron neighbourhood that was home to the alleged attackers. Later on Friday, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli bulldozers started to demolish Palestinian homes and businesses in northern Hebron. Israeli machinery demolishes a Palestinian house in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, in 23 October 2026 (REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma)