HEBRON, West Bank (The Thursday Times) — Israeli forces have withdrawn from Hebron in the occupied West Bank after a 10-day siege, the city’s governor, Khaled Dudin, said on Monday, adding that displaced families could now return home.
Palestinian security forces had taken full control of the area, Dudin said, and authorities were working to make it safe for residents to go back.
The Israeli military imposed the siege on October 23, after two Palestinians carried out a shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others. Israeli forces later killed the two attackers.
During the operation, troops closed off the city and surrounding villages, seized homes in some areas and turned them into military posts, and demolished houses and commercial property. The Hebron Governorate said more than 3,300 Palestinians had been displaced or otherwise affected, particularly in Al-Jalda and Ein Deir Baha, and that 15 homes and other structures had been demolished. It said the operation had also damaged infrastructure and the local economy and disrupted schooling.
