Armoured vehicles return to Hebron streets for the first time since the intifada

At dawn on Tuesday, Israeli occupation forces raided a number of neighbourhoods in the city of Hebron using armoured vehicles. The incident is the first of its kind to occur since the 2002 invasion of the city in what occupation forces called Operation Defensive Shield during the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

According to Safa Palestinian Press Agency, local sources in Hebron said that military jeeps and armoured vehicles raided the neighbourhood of Abu Sneineh in the south and Ras Al-Jura in the north of Hebron, a city in the south of the occupied West Bank.

Israeli occupation forces have been using armoured vehicles over the past few days for roaming and patrolling the area of Haret Jaber. They also opened the street for settlers living in outposts located in the heart of Hebron and in the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Security sources told Safa that foot patrols were carried out at dawn on Tuesday by the occupation army, who marched to the centre of Hebron, despite the snow.

The sources added that a military force comprised of infantry soldiers raided the area of Bab El-Zawia, in downtown Hebron, and roamed the area before withdrawing towards the military checkpoint at the entrance of Shuhada Street. The soldiers also set up a checkpoint near a fuel station in Ras al-Joura.