Arabic version: حصار الخليل يدخل يومه العاشر
According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces are maintaining a siege on Hebron for a 10th consecutive day, while threatening to expand their offensive in the occupied West Bank city. The lockdown was imposed after an October 23 attack near Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed.
More than 3,300 Palestinians have been displaced or otherwise affected since the lockdown began, the local municipality said. Homes have been destroyed and businesses have shut. Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said daily economic losses were estimated at more than 12 million shekels, or $3.8m, while infrastructure damage exceeded $1.9m.
Al-Jabari said Israeli forces had demolished 15 homes and other structures and forced 327 businesses to close. About 80,000 students have been unable to attend school for 10 days, he said. Losses in the health and environmental sectors were estimated at about $160,000. The mayor said Hebron accounts for about 40 percent of the Palestinian economy and described the siege as “collective punishment”.
Israeli arrests of Palestinians in Hebron and other occupied West Bank cities continued on Sunday. Israeli forces arrested 10 Palestinian teachers in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, and seized their vehicle, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Separately, video verified by Al Jazeera showed the Israeli military raiding a United Nations-run school in the Shufat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem.
The United Nations humanitarian office, OCHA, said Israeli settlers carried out 397 attacks on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank in October, the highest monthly total since monitoring began in 2006, according to Wafa. Between October 20 and 26, attacks targeted 49 Palestinian communities, largely during olive harvesting. Nine children were among 57 Palestinians injured by settlers and Israeli forces.
