UN raises 'ethnic cleansing' concerns over Israel's Hebron operation

Israel's military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, launched after a deadly attack by Palestinian gunmen, raises serious concerns of "ethnic cleansing", the United Nations warned Monday.

The municipality in Hebron, the Palestinian territory's largest city, said in a statement that 3,189 people had been forced from their homes by the ongoing operation.

It followed Friday's attack in which two Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers at a checkpoint near the city, just days before Tuesday's Israeli elections. The gunmen were killed in a shootout.

Israeli troops entered the Hebron neighbourhood of Ein Deir Baha, where the two assailants lived, and ordered residents to pack up and leave.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement that Israel's "aggressive operation" has already resulted in the forcible displacement of thousands of Palestinians, "demolished homes and commercial property, and deprived residents of the ability to move freely".

"The sweeping steps taken raise grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force -- which must end," he said.

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Collective punishment

Turk said the lockdown was confining many to their homes and immediate neighbourhoods.

"Declarations by senior Israeli government officials indicate that the measures implemented are punitive in nature and designed to instil fear. This is unacceptable," said Turk.

"Those who have been displaced must be allowed to return home. Israel must ensure compensation and reparation for unlawful evictions and demolitions, and associated displacement.

"Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law. Threats to empty and erase entire neighbourhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing."

Speaking earlier in Cairo, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply alarmed by Israeli actions in the West Bank.

"Evictions are unrelenting with Palestinians driven from their lands. Settler violence is surging," he said.

"We are seeing an increasingly coercive environment, with the spectre of ethnic cleansing looming ever larger. This must end."

Guterres said there could be no durable peace in the Middle East "without the realisation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination".