Geneva – The Israeli army's theft and looting of money, gold jewellery, and personal effects during raids on hundreds of homes in Hebron, in the southern West Bank, is deeply reprehensible. This campaign is part of the collective punishment Israeli forces have inflicted on the city since last Friday morning.
The field team at Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor documented multiple testimonies indicating that Israeli violations in Hebron included forced displacement, demolition of structures, mass arrests, abuse of residents, and the seizure of Palestinians' money and belongings during home raids and searches.
Israeli soldiers also forced homeowners to leave without letting them take any of their belongings and provided no receipt or itemised list of what had been seized. This constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime.
Israeli violations in Hebron included forced displacement, demolition of structures, mass arrests, abuse of residents, and the seizure of Palestinians' money and belongings
The field team observed a large Israeli army force enter Hebron at around 8:00 a.m. on Friday, 23 October 2026. The force closed the city's entrances and imposed severe restrictions on residents' movement, effectively fragmenting the city centre and isolating it from surrounding villages and towns.
The Israeli measures followed a shooting attack on Israeli soldiers near the city's northern entrance. Two soldiers were killed and others injured; the two Palestinian attackers were also killed.
Israeli forces demolished civilian structures and homes and confiscated vehicles. That evening, additional reinforcements arrived in the Ein Deir Baha, Khabbab Roundabout, and Al-Jalda Roundabout areas of the city and began raiding dozens of homes. Using loudspeakers, they ordered residents to evacuate immediately. Families were forced to gather whatever they could carry and leave the area, which the forces completely sealed off. Military checkpoints were set up at every exit, where soldiers searched vehicles and people leaving on foot.
According to local estimates, Israeli forces forcibly displaced around 300 families, about 2,200 people, from their homes in the besieged area, which spans 350 dunams. They also launched a widespread arrest campaign in the city centre and nearby towns, villages, and camps, detaining dozens of civilians. The detainees were transferred to military camps and detention centres on the governorate's outskirts for interrogation, and several were released in the early morning hours.
In his testimony to Euro-Med Monitor, N. J., 47, said: "The soldiers raided and searched my home, then forced us to leave. At the time, I was carrying a bag containing JOD 6,000 (approximately €7,565), intended as the mahr for my son's bride. One soldier took the bag from me and forced me to leave without it."
In another testimony, S. Q., 33, said: "Many soldiers raided and searched the house. My gold jewellery was in the bedroom, and there was also around 200,000 shekels (approximately €57,482), which the soldiers took. My husband and I tried to object, but they yelled at us and forced us to leave the house without providing any confirmation that they had taken the gold or the money."
In a related incident, Euro-Med Monitor's field team documented Israeli settlers stealing sheep in Al-Rihaniya, in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. The thefts were part of ongoing attacks targeting pastoral communities in the area, aimed at depriving Palestinian residents of their main source of livelihood, intimidating them, and forcing them to leave their land, amid Israeli protection or failure to intervene.
These incidents fit a documented pattern of Palestinian property being seized during home raids, searches, and military checkpoints in the West Bank. This pattern overlaps with documented incidents in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, as well as similar raids in villages in southern Lebanon, where videos published by Israeli soldiers appeared to show them stealing and tampering with civilian property, amid reports of stolen money, gold, and other valuable items.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz had previously reported that members of the Israeli forces seized various civilian belongings in southern Lebanon, including motorcycles, appliances, furniture, and valuable personal effects, and openly transported them in military vehicles. The public nature of these acts, the types of property seized, and the military means used to transport it point to an entrenched structure of impunity and institutional leniency towards looting and pillage, allowing such crimes to be committed and repeated without deterrence or accountability.
The recurrence of these acts across multiple areas, with no serious sign of deterrence or accountability, shows that Israeli soldiers routinely loot under the cover of military operations and amid systematic impunity.
International humanitarian law prohibits the pillage of private property, including the 1907 Hague Regulations and Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly prohibits pillage and collective penalties. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies the pillaging of a town or place, including when it is taken by assault, as a war crime. Forcibly transferring residents and demolishing their homes without imperative military necessity are also grave violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
An independent and effective international investigation into incidents of looting, forced displacement, and collective punishment in Hebron is essential. It should gather and preserve evidence and determine individual and military criminal responsibility, including that of political commanders who knew or should have known about these crimes but failed to take the necessary measures to prevent them or punish the perpetrators.
The International Criminal Court should include these incidents in its investigations into the Situation in the State of Palestine. States whose laws permit it should also exercise national and universal jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible. The international community must cease claiming that it is unable to hold Israel accountable, as continued leniency and the lack of deterrent measures have entrenched a climate of impunity.
All states should impose effective economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel; halt exports of weapons, ammunition, and military and security equipment; suspend all forms of military and intelligence cooperation; and end political and economic support that shields the continuation of these crimes.
Urgent international protection and an end to settler attacks in the West Bank are essential to safeguarding Palestinian civilians. Israel, as the occupying power, must be compelled to protect the population and their property.
