Israeli forces maintained a strict lockdown on Hebron for the tenth consecutive day, raising mounting concerns among local residents that the military operation could soon expand across the occupied West Bank city. The sweeping restrictions were imposed following an October 23 attack near Hebron that left two Israeli soldiers dead.
According to municipal figures, the ongoing blockade has displaced or otherwise impacted more than 3,300 Palestinians. Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari stated that daily economic losses have surpassed 12 million shekels, equivalent to approximately $3.8 million. Infrastructure damage has exceeded $1.9 million, while the health and environmental sectors have sustained about $160,000 in losses.
The military measures have disrupted daily life across the municipality, halting the education of roughly 80,000 students who have been unable to attend classes throughout the ten-day closure. Mayor al-Jabari noted that Israeli forces have demolished 15 homes and other structures while compelling 327 businesses to shut their doors. Highlighting the city’s economic weight, he pointed out that Hebron accounts for approximately 40 percent of the Palestinian economy, characterizing the sustained lockdown as an act of collective punishment.
Alongside the urban siege, military raids and settler violence persisted across the wider West Bank. On Sunday, Israeli forces arrested 10 Palestinian teachers in Masafer Yatta, located south of Hebron, and confiscated their vehicle. Footage verified by independent monitors also captured the military raiding a United Nations-run school inside the Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates that Israeli settlers carried out 397 attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank in October alone, marking the highest monthly total since recording began in 2006. Between October 20 and 26, these assaults targeted 49 Palestinian communities, frequently disrupting the annual olive harvest. Out of 57 Palestinians injured during the period by settlers and military personnel, nine were children. The injuries included 34 resulting from military gunfire and physical assaults, and 23 stemming from settler violence.
Long-term property pressures also continue to mount in the territory. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported that since the beginning of 2015, Israeli authorities have issued 9,518 demolition or stop-work notices against Palestinian properties in the occupied West Bank, including 344 notices issued during the first nine months of the year.
