Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Jabari said the Israeli military campaign is costing the West Bank city more than $3.8 million a day as the siege continued for a 10th consecutive day Sunday.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, al-Jabari estimated daily losses at more than 12 million shekels, or $3.8 million. He put infrastructure damage above $1.9 million and losses in health and environmental sectors at about $160,000.
Al Jazeera attributed a count of more than 3,300 Palestinians displaced or affected to the local municipality. An Oct. 27 municipal update cited in an earlier EconoTimes report put displacement at 4,969 people from 780 families. The counts use different categories and dates.
The mayor reported 15 homes and other structures demolished, along with 327 businesses closed. He said the disruption kept about 80,000 students from attending classes during the 10-day period.
Al-Jabari said Hebron accounts for about 40% of the Palestinian economy and called the siege “collective punishment.” Al Jazeera reported that Israel had threatened to widen its campaign as families around the city feared further attacks. The operation followed an Oct. 23 attack near Hebron that killed two Israeli soldiers, Al Jazeera reported.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said October saw 397 settler attacks against Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank, Wafa reported. October’s total was the largest in OCHA’s records, which begin in 2006.
