Israeli Bulldozers Demolish Hebron Factories After Deadly Shooting
Israeli bulldozers demolished the ceramic and marble factories of Sufyan al-Qawasmi in the Farsh al-Hawa area of Hebron on Friday, without prior warning or notice, according to Al Jazeera.
The demolitions followed a shooting attack that morning near the western entrance of Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian territory where Israel holds military control. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack, along with the two Palestinian gunmen who carried it out.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a large-scale military operation across Hebron and ordered preparations for a wider closure of the occupied West Bank. Earlier, Netanyahu had said Israeli forces would demolish homes in the West Bank after the soldiers were killed, according to DW.
The operation, as Al Jazeera reported, included the closure of all entrances to Hebron, raids, arrests, and the forced evacuation of more than 3,000 Palestinians from their homes. Hebron's mayor said Israeli forces demolished houses as well as commercial and industrial facilities.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich defended the demolitions, saying they were meant for "establishing deterrence and exacting a price."
The al-Qawasmi family business had included a ceramics factory, which is 50 years old, and a marble factory opened 15 years later. According to Al Jazeera, the business supported more than 70 people and exported goods to Israel. Al-Qawasmi said 1,300 square metres of the family's property was destroyed and estimated losses at no less than 60 million shekels, the Israeli currency, or about $19 million.
Al Jazeera also reported that mass expulsions, blockades and expanding settler control in Hebron threaten to devastate the West Bank economy, a view that outlet attributed to its own analysis of the situation.
