Structures Demolished Near Hebron Hours After Deadly Terror Attack

Within hours of a deadly shooting attack near the Judah junction and Tarkumiya checkpoint on Friday, the Civil Administration's supervision unit launched a large-scale demolition operation targeting dozens of illegal Arab structures near the incident site. The operation was carried out under the direct instruction of Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister in the Ministry of Defense, who personally visited the area to oversee the heavy machinery working against time before Shabbat. "This is just the beginning. As part of creating deterrence and exacting a price for the difficult encounter, we are carrying out a series of demolitions here in coordination with the army and the Civil Administration," Smotrich stated on site. "We are sending an unequivocal message to our enemies: whoever messes with us will pay a very painful price. We will take down quite a few structures here by Shabbat. Jewish blood is not to be spilled in vain."

The dramatic move occurred concurrently with an extensive manhunt and military operations by the IDF, including a cordon around Hebron and roadblocks, following the deaths of two soldiers. The shooting attack involved two terrorists who arrived in a stolen vehicle with Israeli license plates, exited, and opened fire on forces at the scene. The attack concluded with the elimination of the two terrorists after a 20-minute firefight.

In parallel with the demolitions, Smotrich announced the approval of four new outposts in the southern Hebron Hills region. He stated that an agreement was reached with the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense to map additional areas in Judea and Samaria for concentrated enforcement and deterrence efforts.

The rapid and extensive demolition operation is reminiscent of similar actions by the supervision unit weeks prior, which removed dozens of threats to new settlements in the area. At that time, illegal invasions and plantings covering 20 dunams of state land near the "Makda" settlement in the Hebron Hills were cleared, along with structures near the "Shira" settlement in Samaria.

This operational activity is part of a broader effort to restore Israeli governance and control in the area, including the declaration of new settlements, advancing their statutory processes, bringing settlement cores to the area, and enforcing against illegal construction to enable their establishment and development.