Since Friday 23rd October, Israeli forces have enforced a military lockdown on the city of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, with that number increasing daily. The military lockdown followed a shooting at a military checkpoint that killed two Israeli soldiers; two Palestinians were subsequently also killed. After closing all entry points to the city, Israeli forces demolished buildings across Hebron, entirely flattening neighbourhoods closest to the shooting.
Thousands of Palestinians are at immediate risk of displacement in Hebron and across the West Bank as Israeli forces continue their systematic restrictions. We are deeply concerned about what these increased attacks by Israeli forces and escalating settler violence mean for people across Palestine.
Our partner organisation in Palestine, Dalia Association, tells us that these lockdowns and attacks come as olive harvesting week begins in the West Bank. For many Palestinians, the harvest is an essential source of food and income. The 2025 olive harvest saw 178 settler attacks and more than 6,000 trees vandalised. Olive trees take years to grow, so their destruction affects families’ food security and livelihoods long after the harvest ends.
Across Palestine, local peacebuilders are already working to support and protect traumatised families.
These measures are severe collective punishment, and cannot be viewed in isolation from the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Since the attacks of 7th October 2023, we have witnessed the international community failing to hold the Israeli government to account, enabling its crimes against humanity and disregard for international law.
We welcome the UK government’s recent recognition of the Israeli occupation as unlawful. In the same statement, UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused the Israeli government of turning a ‘blind eye’ to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank. The UK government has also announced a ban on all trading of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. While we support these long-overdue steps, they fall short of what is needed to respond to the moment.
At Peace Direct, we take our lead from local peacebuilders in Palestine, Lebanon and the wider region. They tell us that true peacebuilding is not possible amid occupation, injustice and impunity.
The UK government speaks of idealism and resilience, but supporting Palestinian people’s resilience means listening to Palestinians. Government restrictions and strong words alone are not enough to stop the violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
As a peacebuilding NGO we recognise that true peace must be rooted in liberation and justice. Along with local peacebuilders we continue to demand decisive action from all governments, particularly in the UK, US and EU where we are based, to end arms sales to Israel and to hold Israel accountable under international law.
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