About 3,300 Palestinians returned to their homes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Monday following more than a week of forced displacement. Residents now face a difficult cleanup operation after withdrawing Israeli forces left behind widespread destruction in homes and neighbourhoods.
The Ein Deir Bahha and al-Jalda neighbourhoods endured a ten day assault following the fatal shooting of two Israeli soldiers in the city on October 23. Two Palestinian suspects were also killed during the incident. Hundreds of Palestinian families were forced out of their homes with few belongings while Israeli troops barred residents from returning.
Hebron Governor Khaled Dodin announced on Monday morning that families could finally access their properties. Residents found widespread demolitions, vandalism and other forms of tampering across their streets.
The displacement scattered local families across different areas of Hebron. Fahd Ahmaro and his family were dispersed across four neighbourhoods after being expelled from their home in the Khallet al-Maghariba area.
We were driven out of our homes and houses. Words cannot describe what happened, Ahmaro told reporters. We were in an unbearable hell, and all of that fell upon us suddenly and without prior notice and without any right.
Praise be to God that he returned us to our paradise, he added. Some homes in his neighbourhood were completely destroyed, while others had doors blown off their hinges and interior contents smashed.
Samer Mujahid, a resident of the al-Jalda roundabout area, said Israeli soldiers raided his home and gave him ten minutes to take his children and leave for 18 days. When Mujahid asked for more time to pack clothing, an ultimatum was delivered.
If I return to you after ten minutes and you have not left, I will break your legs, a soldier told him.
Civil associations and local residents have formed field teams to clear the destruction and assess damage to public and private properties. Muammar al-Awiwi, a Hebron municipal council member, stated that the targeted zones are also suffering from power outages and intermittent water supplies.
The military operation resulted in the demolition of 15 facilities, including three homes. Two of those demolished houses belonged to the suspects in the attack that killed the two Israeli soldiers. At least 327 shops were shuttered and about 80,000 students were deprived of education during the ten day displacement.
The Hebron municipality estimated that direct economic losses from the siege exceeded 12 million shekels, about 3.8 million US dollars, per day. Damage to city infrastructure surpassed six million shekels, while health and environmental sector losses reached 500,000 shekels.
The tragedy is great. Some residents returned and cannot live in their damaged homes as a result of the bombing or deliberate sabotage by the occupation army, such as destroying furniture, bedrooms and bathrooms, al-Awiwi said.
