Israeli forces evict Hebron families, turn homes into military posts
Troops ordered residents out of a six-story building and gave families under five minutes to collect belongings, Palestinian officials said.
Israeli forces forcibly removed several Palestinian families from their homes in southern Hebron on Thursday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The agency's correspondent reported that troops raided the Abu Sneineh neighborhood, entered a residential building and ordered its residents out before using it as a military outpost.
Kefah Abu Sneineh, a resident, told WAFA that the six-story building houses about 50 people, including women, children, patients and older adults, who are now left without shelter.
He said the troops gave the families less than five minutes to gather some belongings before ordering them to leave.
In the Jaber neighborhood, soldiers also removed Majed Jaber and his family of ten from their home and turned it into a military barracks.
Israeli forces have also tightened restrictions and military measures against Palestinians across Hebron, the agency reported.
The moves come before the expected arrival of Israeli settlers at the Ibrahimi Mosque and the city's Old City for the Jewish celebration known as Shabbat Sarah.
Thousands of settlers from across the occupied Palestinian territories are expected to take part in religious rituals and celebrations, which WAFA described as often accompanied by violent attacks on Palestinian civilians and their property.
Hebron, the largest city in the occupied West Bank, is home to the Ibrahimi Mosque, a site revered by both Muslims and Jews, and has been divided into areas under differing Israeli and Palestinian control since a 1997 agreement.