UN warns Israel operation in Hebron raises ethnic-cleansing concerns

The United Nations warned on Monday that Israel’s military operation in Hebron raises serious concerns of ethnic cleansing, as the city’s municipality said 3,189 people had been forced from their homes. The UN described the warning as a concern, not a legal determination. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the operation had involved displacement, demolitions of homes and commercial property, and restrictions on residents’ movement. He said the measures raised serious concerns about unnecessary and disproportionate force and collective punishment, and called for the operation to end. Türk also said displaced people must be allowed to return and that Israel should provide compensation and reparation for unlawful evictions and demolitions. The municipality’s figure is an attributed local count; the reports do not independently verify it. Palestinian officials cited different totals with distinct geographic scopes: Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin said 3,171 people in 488 families had been displaced across the wider governorate, while Mayor Yousef al-Jabari gave a city-only figure of 3,043. The figures describe different areas and do not establish a single independently verified...