Overview

• Israeli soldiers arrested Hebron mayor Tajsir Abu Sneineh overnight, with the army referring questions to the Shin Bet security service.
• The Hebron city council condemned the operation, saying a large force raided the mayor’s home and ransacked the property.
• Unnamed Israeli sources said the detention was tied to accusations that the mayor supports Hamas and Islamic Jihad and incites against Israel.
• Palestinian reports framed the move as part of an effort to cultivate alternative local leadership that could weaken or replace the Palestinian Authority.
• The backdrop includes a July proposal by Hebron sheikhs for a local emirate and Israeli right‑wing calls, including from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to dissolve the PA, in a city whose Old City remains under Israeli military control with a small settler enclave.