On August 31 to September 1 2026, in the Shalala (الشلالة / Shalala) area immediately adjacent to Hebron’s Old City, Israeli settlers moved into the Shalala Street area adjacent to the Old City, accompanied by Israeli forces, who established a security perimeter, in order to establish a new outpost in the heart of the city.

On August 31, 2026 — Day 1:

Israeli settlers arrived in the Shalala Street (شارع الشلالة) area, on the edge of Hebron’s Old City, accompanied and protected by Israeli forces. They brought an excavator and began clearing/leveling a plot of Palestinian land. Soldiers established a perimeter around the site.

A young Palestinian man was detained, handcuffed with a plastic zip tie, and forced to sit on the ground.

The two detainees in the city of Hebron are: Rajab Zigan and his son Omar.

Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jaabari described the operation as an attempt to establish a new settlement outpost in the heart of the city. He said it was part of a broader plan to strengthen the settlers’ presence in the Old City.

1 September 2026 — Day 2: the land-clearing continued

The settlers brought their own machinery, forced their way into a carpentry workshop, broke its doors, and completely leveled the land next to it. Raef al-Harbawi’s family has rented the workshop for 70 years.

Israeli flags were placed on Palestinian properties and along the street. Another resident, Abu Mustafa al-Shyoukhi, said that settler provocations in the area had been continuing for more than six months, with the support of the Israeli army.

Badr al-Daour al-Tamimi, head of the Old City committee, said that settlers and the army brought bulldozers onto land they had seized by force, and considered the objective to be the establishment of an outpost that would further suffocate the area and push Palestinian residents to leave.

Resident Nidal al-Awiwi warned that the land seizure could effectively empty an entire street of its Palestinian residents, passers-by and visitors.

Broader context:

Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jaabari warned that Israel aims to seize the Old City and Ibrahimi Mosque and transform its character from a mosque into a synagogue. Hebron’s H2 area, under direct Israeli military control since 1997, is home to around 40,000 Palestinians and nearly 200 settler families, living under separate movement and security regimes. The Ibrahimi Mosque itself is divided between Muslim and Jewish worshippers. Bezalel Smotrich recently announced plans to transfer planning and construction powers at the site to Israeli authorities, while Israel’s Supreme Planning Committee subsequently approved a new building for the Shavei Hebron religious school near Beit Romano settlement. Al-Jaabari said Hebron is being targeted through settlement expansion, Judaization and property confiscation, while municipal officials are pursuing legal action despite their lack of confidence in Israeli courts.