Collective Punishment for Residents of Hebron
On October 23, 2026, following a shooting attack in the Hebron area that left two soldiers dead, the military imposed a full closure on the city of Hebron and additional communities in the surrounding area and launched a large-scale military operation. The extensive military activity includes raids on hundreds of homes, searches, arrests, interrogations, residents’ homes being taken over and converted into military posts, the demolition of structures and businesses, roadblocks, and the evacuation of hundreds of families from their homes. Media reports have indicated that the demolitions were explicitly presented by politicians as a means of punishment and retribution, aimed at “creating deterrence and exacting a price” following the attack.
The closure and roadblocks imposed on Hebron and the surrounding communities prevent hundreds of thousands of residents from maintaining their daily routines; impede their access to workplaces, educational institutions, and medical services; and may endanger lives if rescue and emergency services cannot access the area. These conditions are in addition to years of extensive restrictions placed on Palestinian residents’ freedom of movement in the city, which intensified considerably since October 2023.
On October 25, 2026, ACRI submitted an urgent appeal to the military, demanding an end to the displacement of Hebron’s Palestinian residents. The appeal also demands that residents be allowed to return immediately and safely, that the blockade imposed on the city and the surrounding communities and the movement restrictions imposed within the city be lifted, and that the demolition of buildings whose owners were not involved in the attack be halted. In the appeal, ACRI Attorney Reut Shaer argued that the measures being undertaken constitute collective punishment of an entire population for the actions of individuals, and that the use of the military’s enforcement powers for purposes of punishment, intimidation, or revenge is improper and prohibited. International law categorically prohibits collective punishment, regardless of the stated purpose invoked to justify it, and also prohibits the forcible displacement of a protected population except under exceptional and specifically-defined circumstances, which do not exist in this case.
ACRI’s appeal, October 25, 2025 (English translation)
ACRI’s appeal, October 25, 2025 (Heb)
