Reports from WAFA and Arab News describe Palestinian families being evicted from homes in Hebron on Thursday, Nov. 5, and a residential building being converted into a military post. The reports came days after the Israeli military announced its withdrawal from an area of the city, but they do not establish that all forces had remained there or verify every household-level detail circulating about the evictions.
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What was reported in Abu Sneineh and Jaber
WAFA reported that Israeli forces entered a residential building in Abu Sneineh, forced its residents to leave, and converted the building into a military post.
15 Arab News likewise reported a six-story residential building in Abu Sneineh being turned into a military outpost and said forces also targeted the Jaber area.
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A report from SANA, citing WAFA, put the number of people living in the Abu Sneineh building at around 50. That figure describes residents of the building—not a verified total for everyone displaced in Hebron that day.
6 The available excerpts do not independently confirm the reported details about Majed Jaber’s family or a separate seizure in al-Burj.
The withdrawal announcement and what followed
On Nov. 2, the Israeli military announced that it had withdrawn from an area of Hebron after completing operational measures. The announcement also referred to heightened readiness to secure the expected Chayei Sarah events.
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18 Reports published after the Nov. 5 evictions therefore describe renewed military activity and home seizures following that announcement. They do not, on their own, show whether forces had continuously occupied the affected buildings between those dates.
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Arab News linked the reported activity to the approach of Chayei Sarah, when thousands of Israeli visitors were expected in Hebron.
7 That timing is reported context; the available sources do not establish it as the reason for the specific home seizures.
Related reports of attacks and property seizures
SANA’s account said the evictions coincided with settler attacks, arrests, and property seizures.
6 Separately, Yaffa News reported six arrests following an attack on sheep herders in the broader area south of Hebron, as well as the seizure of a vehicle, an agricultural tractor, and mobile phones. Its report does not establish that those incidents occurred as part of the Abu Sneineh building seizure.
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Displacement figures need careful comparison
The figures reported for the wider operation describe different measures and time periods. A Nov. 3 New Arab report cited local relief committee data saying about 537 families—nearly 3,300 people—had been forced to leave their homes during the operation.
1 Al Jazeera later reported a figure of nearly 5,000 people displaced, attributing it to UNRWA.
34 Another report said more than 780 families had been affected, including 537 families reported as forcibly displaced.
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These numbers should not be treated as interchangeable: “displaced,” “affected,” and “returned” describe different circumstances. Arab News reported that families began returning after the withdrawal and that some found damaged homes; The New Arab also described returning residents finding homes vandalized.
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33 The available excerpts do not reconcile the estimates or establish how many people remained displaced after the withdrawal.
What the reports do—and do not—establish
The accounts support a limited conclusion: Palestinian families were reportedly evicted from homes in Abu Sneineh on Nov. 5, a residential building was converted into a military post, and Arab News reported activity in Jaber as well. These reports followed the Nov. 2 withdrawal announcement.
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They do not independently verify every named family detail, the reported al-Burj seizure, the number of people still displaced after the withdrawal, or the claim that exactly four firearms were recovered. Nor do the excerpts substantiate a precise count of homes demolished during the operation.
Separately, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned during the wider Hebron operation that collective punishment is a grave violation of international law and said threats to empty and erase entire neighborhoods raised serious concerns about ethnic cleansing. That is Türk’s warning, not a finding in the reports about the specific Nov. 5 building seizure.
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