Israeli forces seize Hebron homes for military use as lockdown deepens

Palestinian homes in Hebron have been seized by Israeli forces and converted into barracks and observation posts, with residents ordered out as a military operation in the southern occupied West Bank continues, the Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported.

Troops took over properties in the Khallat Manna and Dahiyat al-Zaytoun areas of southern Hebron to quarter soldiers, while families in other neighbourhoods were expelled so that their homes could be used as observation positions, Wafa said, citing sources.

The Israeli military has placed Hebron under lockdown and carried out hundreds of raids since two armed Palestinian men allegedly attacked an Israeli army reserve base on Friday, killing two soldiers. The two suspects were also killed.

The seizures of homes follow the forced displacement of hundreds of families, who have been pushed out amid extensive raids, road closures and tight restrictions on movement across the city.

According to the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, Israeli forces have detained at least 47 Palestinians across Hebron since Friday and forcibly displaced 293 families, comprising about 2,200 people. The NGO told Al Jazeera that the displaced include 127 infants, 81 pregnant women and 26 people with disabilities, as well as 134 Palestinians with chronic illnesses and 265 elderly people over the age of 60. The group also said Israeli troops conducted hundreds of field interrogations, subjecting Palestinians to detention and abuse.

In a parallel development, Israeli settlers began establishing two new outposts on Palestinian-owned land in the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, Wafa reported. Activist Osama Makhamra told the agency that settlers pitched a tent in the Khallet al-Fara area west of Yatta, brought in bulldozers and excavation machinery, and started levelling and digging the land in preparation for construction.

Makhamra said a second outpost was set up in the Yatta desert area, on Palestinian-owned land between the villages of az-Zuweidin and Umm Qussa, where settlers erected several tents and began installing infrastructure, including water and electricity networks.

Near Bethlehem, Israeli forces kept roads and entrances across the governorate closed for a third consecutive day on Sunday, affecting several towns and villages, Wafa reported. On Saturday, troops shut dirt roads leading to Tuqu to block access and fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades towards Palestinian vehicles travelling along rough alternative routes near the town.

The latest attacks and closures come days before Israel's general elections, with tensions running high across the occupied Palestinian territory, where settlers backed by the military have carried out a wave of pogroms targeting olive harvesters.