HEBRON, January 31, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation forces on Saturday moved forward concrete barriers they had installed years ago in the Bab al-Zawiya commercial center in Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank, in order to seize more street space and expand the checkpoint at the entrance to Al-Shuhada Street.
WAFA correspondent said a large number of Israeli soldiers raided the Bab al-Zawiya area, forcing shop owners to close their stores, dispersing residents, and clearing the area by force. The barriers, installed several years ago, were advanced to cover approximately 30 square meters of street space.
These measures are part of the Israeli occupation's ongoing policy of targeting Palestinian neighborhoods, particularly Tel Rumeida and Al-Shuhada Street in central Hebron, which have been fully closed off with military checkpoints since 2000.
The occupation has also established several colonial outposts and the settlements of Beit Hadassa and Ramat Yishai, depriving Palestinians of basic rights in all areas of life as part of a policy aimed at displacing residents and expanding settlements.
The closure of Al-Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida has been gradual since the 1994 massacre in the Ibrahimi Mosque carried out by an extremist Israeli settler, culminating in the full closure of the street to Palestinians after the Second Intifada in 2000.
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