UN condemns Israel’s siege of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, warning measures on residents could amount to ethnic cleansing as thousands are displaced

The United Nations condemned Israel’s siege of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, saying the campaign had displaced thousands of Palestinians and warning that measures imposed on residents could amount to “ethnic cleansing.”

UN human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said in Geneva that the sweeping measures raised grave concerns about the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force. He called for the attacks to end.

The Israeli incursion has included the demolition of homes and commercial properties and sweeping movement restrictions, Laurence said. Many Palestinians have been left confined to their homes or immediate neighbourhoods.

Last week, Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem warned that Israel was extending its “ethnic cleansing” campaign to Hebron, saying plans for mass displacement and widespread destruction were already being put into action.

At least 619 Palestinian families, comprising about 3,971 people, have been forcibly displaced from their homes since Friday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on X that “settlements are expanding, evictions are unrelenting, with Palestinians driven from their lands, settler violence is surging, Palestinian families are being assaulted.” He said the environment was becoming increasingly coercive, with “the spectre of ethnic cleansing looming ever larger.”

Guterres added that there could be no durable peace in the Middle East without the realisation of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights to self-determination.