Israeli forces prepare to demolish Palestinian houses in Hebron

Israeli forces raided the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron early on Wednesday, 23 August, and took measurements of a family's home in preparation for demolition.

The house is home to the families of two relatives from the extended ٍShantir family,  Mohammad and Saqer Shantir, whom Israeli forces accuse of being behind the shooting that killed a 40-year-old Israeli settler south of the city on Monday.

The two families who live in both houses include several children, local human rights sources told The New Arab.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces announced the arrest of the two brothers, accusing them of the shooting. The arrest came following an extensive search campaign, including sealing off of Hebron.

The shooting came two days after two Israeli settlers were killed in a similar shooting in Hawara, south of Nablus. Israeli forces continue to search for the Hawara shooter.

Israeli forces regularly demolish, detonate or seal with cement the houses of Palestinians accused of killing Israelis. Punitive demolition is considered a form of collective punishment and a war crime by human rights groups and the UN, as it affects family members, including children.

Israeli forces invaded the Palestinian owned-house, Mohammad and Saqr Shantir, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron in preparation for a demolishing process.#16thOctoberGroup pic.twitter.com/vfJsUdTAJN

— Aisha Ashraf (@AishaAs60365998) August 23, 2023

Escalation in the West Bank intensified since the weekend, after the shootings in Hawara and Hebron, as Israeli forces raided and sealed off several Palestinian towns and villages, arresting some 69 Palestinians since Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club.

In the village of Beita, south of Nablus, Israeli forces wounded six Palestinians while raiding the village and caused material damage to businesses on Tuesday. Israeli forces also continued to search houses in the neighbouring village of Aqraba.

Meanwhile, Israeli media revealed on Wednesday that settler leaders in the occupied West Bank presented a plan to the Israeli government to increase the number of Israeli settlers in the northern occupied West Bank from 170,000 currently to 1 million by 2050.

The plan includes expanding existing settlements and building new ones, as well as railroads and an airport. The plan proposal came less than a week after Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced a US$180 million package to expand settlements in the West Bank.

RT @Timesofgaza "lsraeli occupation forces raid Hebron city last night and cordon a Palestinian-owned house. https://t.co/fKzqVQsa1Z pic.twitter.com/7G5Q5XY5Mv"

— Richard Hardigan (@RichardHardigan) August 22, 2023

The occupied West Bank has witnessed an ongoing escalation of Israeli violence since late 2021, with a spike in Israeli military raids into Palestinian cities and communities, killing 230 Palestinians in 2022 and more than 200 since the beginning of 2023, including 40 children, according to human rights groups.

Simultaneously, Palestinian armed action against Israeli targets has increased, especially in the northern occupied West Bank. Since the beginning of 2023, some 35 Israelis, including troops, West Bank settlers and civilians inside Israel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks.