Two Palestinians attacked an Israeli military checkpoint in Hebron's Farsh Al-Hawa neighbourhood on Friday, killing two soldiers. Both attackers were killed. What followed was not a security response proportional to the incident but a sweeping collective punishment campaign ordered by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who holds the West Bank defence portfolio. A three-story building and industrial facilities were demolished. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced. The demographics of the displaced tell the story of who bears the cost. City officials report nearly half are babies and children under 18. Eighty-one pregnant women and 204 elderly people are among those forced out. Fahd Ahmaro, one displaced resident, told Al Jazeera his family left with nothing but the clothes on their backs — savings, belongings, and documents abandoned in a home he can no longer safely reach. Hebron's Palestinian authorities declared a state of emergency, assembling a crisis committee spanning government agencies, the private sector, and civil society. The response has been driven substantially by private citizens. Real estate developer Mohamed Al-Rujoob opened apartments in nearby Dura to displaced families, prompting other property owners to follow. He now hosts three extended families, including 30 children. Committee member Riyadh Khamis described a city with deep traditions of mutual aid, noting Hebron was the first to provide relief during COVID lockdowns and during the Gaza war. The lockdown affects nearly one million Palestinians across Hebron district. Schools have shifted to online classes. Hebron's universities made similar arrangements for 18,000 students. The Fawwar refugee camp, home to nearly 8,000 people, has been sealed — Israeli soldiers closed the entrance gate on Saturday, barring all movement in or out, even on foot. Teacher Abdel Fattah Al-Ttitti described being trapped with access only to a poorly equipped clinic in Masafer Yatta, wholly inadequate for emergencies. The timing is not incidental. Israelis vote on Tuesday in a general election. Netanyahu's coalition is competing aggressively for right-wing votes, and violence against Palestinians has functioned as campaign currency. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Settlement Affairs Minister Orit Strook both maintain homes in illegal Hebron-area settlements and openly advocate what they term "encouraging voluntary migration" — ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Smotrich's demolition order, the disproportionate lockdown, and the forced displacement of thousands serve a dual function: security theatre for an electorate primed for escalation and incremental territorial consolidation in the West Bank's economic capital. The checkpoint attack provided the pretext; the response reveals the objective. What remains is the pattern itself. A localised incident is leveraged into collective punishment across an entire district. Civilian infrastructure is destroyed. A million people are locked down. The displaced are absorbed not by state institutions but by neighbours opening their doors. The costs flow entirely downward — onto Palestinian families, children, the elderly, the pregnant — while the political benefits flow upward to Israeli ministers campaigning on maximalist platforms.
