West Bank: Settlers Build New Outpost While Hebron Siege Drags On

Israeli forces and settlers launched coordinated attacks across the occupied West Bank on Friday, with a military operation in Hebron now in its eighth day.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that troops sealed off the al-Jalda and Deir Bahha neighborhoods in Hebron. They fired tear gas and stun grenades at displaced residents attempting to return to their homes. Forces also demolished houses belonging to two Palestinians, identifying them as gunmen who killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint on October 23.

More than 115 Palestinians have been detained since the operation began. A total of 780 families have been affected, with 537 fully displaced. Approximately 5,000 people are either besieged in their homes or forced out. In-person classes at 66 schools have been disrupted, impacting 2,872 students.

Violence extended to agricultural communities on Friday. Settlers attacked a family harvesting olives in Tel Rumeida near Hebron, injuring five people. In Beita, south of Nablus, settlers assaulted olive pickers. In Burqa, east of Ramallah, they damaged olive trees.

Settlers began construction on a new outpost on Palestinian land between Ni'lin and Qibya, west of Ramallah. They also vandalized property in Jaba, south of Jenin, and al-Masudiya, northwest of Nablus. The Israeli army shut the main eastern entrance to Qalqilya on Friday evening.