UN Secretary-General voices alarm as Israel imposes sweeping closures on Hebron

27 October 2026

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about closures, reported demolitions and possible displacement in Hebron in the occupied West Bank after gunmen opened fire near a military checkpoint outside the city. UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at the noon briefing in New York that the closures severely restrict Palestinians' freedom of movement, access to basic services and livelihoods. Entrances and exits to Hebron were closed and the Ibrahimi Mosque was shut, so worshippers could not hold Friday prayers. It is the fourth time in a month that Israel has imposed territory-wide restrictions. Guterres also condemned the violence caused by record numbers of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in 2026 and reminded Israel, as the occupying power, that it must protect Palestinians and hold perpetrators accountable. Mayy El Sheikh, spokesperson for the UN human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory, called the lockdown part of suffocating measures and said the office documented more than 160 settler attacks in the first two weeks of October 2026, involving live ammunition, arson, crop theft and damage to olive groves. The closures coincide with the olive harvest, and movement restrictions are keeping thousands of farmers from their groves.