The sounds of hammering, the deafeningly loud noise of a generator, and the continuous movement of people carrying doors, electrical cables, recovered bricks and even roofs to trucks and trailers.
This was all one needed to know that a family home on the West Bank was being dismantled.
Men shouted instructions to each other, overseen by the matriarchal figure of Sahar El Tell.
Her family have lived here for over 100 years – and this is their last day in their home, on their land.
For three years they have been harassed and intimidated by a settler family who want them to leave – and they have resisted – but since the Hamas attacks on 7 October, the threats have increased.
Image: Sahar El Tell and her family are leaving the home their family has lived in for over a century
The El Tell family have decided enough is enough.
“They attack us night and day, they beat the women and children who live here, cut the water pipes and electricity cables, they destroyed our neighbour’s car, and sent a drone to intimidate the children and our goats,” Sahar told me.
“They watch us with a drone, the drone was here this morning over our heads, so they can send a message they are watching us.”
They say it all came to a head when the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) issued them with a warning to leave in seven days or “we will destroy your houses on top of your heads”.
It’s not just Sahar and her family leaving.
Image: Men loading a tractor trailer in Zanota
Image: Men packing to leave Zanota
The entire population of the West Bank village of Zanota is moving, even though this land is legally theirs by international law.
Everything they can salvage gets put into trucks and trailers for the journey to a new, equally desolate, place in the Hebron Hills.
Image: Yazan revealed his sadness at having to leave the home his father, grandfather and great-grandfather lived in all their lives
When I meet 17-year-old Yazan he is pulling electrical cables out of a wall and prepping the cables to take to their new home – he isn’t sure where yet.
Yazan told me he was feeling sad, upset, and simply at a loss about leaving the home his father, his grandfather, and great-grandfather lived in all their lives.
But staying is no longer an option.
Image: An empty house with no roof in Zanota
“The settlers have limited our movements, they scared our goats with a drone, they threatened us, and they came at night, shouted at us, and smashed our neighbour’s car – our neighbour has also left,” he told me.
They’re too afraid to stay.
In much of the West Bank, since the war in Gaza started, the military has closed roads to Palestinian towns and villages and aren’t allowing the movement of cars into those towns. The people who live inside have to walk out and catch cabs instead.
The West Bank as a whole is in a sort-of lockdown imposed by the IDF.
I drove through much of this land, designated as occupied by the international community, and was amazed at just how much control the Israeli military now has here.
Image: Israeli soldiers monitor a checkpoint
Ordinary life has been suspended – a suspension overseen by Israeli soldiers patrolling in armoured vehicles, searching cars at checkpoints, monitoring all movement from fortified watchtowers and locking shut huge yellow barriers to Palestinian towns; or dumping great mounds of earth to block roads.
It’s quiet, it’s eery, it’s intimidating and scary – and that’s exactly how it’s designed to be.
As we filmed in front of one of the closed entrances to Hebron, a woman got out of her car to talk to us. She wanted to know where we were from, and what we were doing here.
British-born Israeli Mayzie Avihail also wanted to tell me that Jews have a historical right to live in Hebron, whether it’s legal or not.
Image: British-born Israeli Mayzie Avihail told Stuart Ramsay that Jews have a historical right to live in Hebron
“This is the oldest place in the world that is Jewish, and has been Jewish for 4,800 years, who can tell, can you tell me who you are descended from?” she said to me.
“We are Jews, we’re a tribe, we’re a family, we’re the only ones who can tell you where we are descended from.”
The IDF says it has imposed new restrictions on the West Bank because of increased security concerns.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
But this whole turn of events isn’t just about movement of people and control of security.
What we have seen evidence of is a sudden upsurge in activity by Israeli settlers on the West Bank.
With so much else going on, in effect they’re gambling that the normal limitations on their instinct to take over as much Palestinian land as possible, have been forgotten for the time being – so they’re acting fast.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Image: Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Image: The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
While the UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 1.55% and the continent’s STOXX Europe 600 index was down 2.67% as of 5.30pm, it was American traders who were hit the most.
All three of the US’s major markets opened to sharp losses on Thursday morning.
Image: The S&P 500 is set for its worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. File pic: AP
By 8.30pm UK time (3.30pm EST), The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 3.7%, the S&P 500 opened with a drop of 4.4%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 5.6%.
Compared to their values when Donald Trump was inaugurated, the three markets were down around 5.6%, 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively, according to LSEG.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Worst one-day losses since COVID
As Wall Street trading ended at 9pm in the UK, two indexes had suffered their worst one-day losses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 4.85%, the Nasdaq dropped 6%, and the Dow Jones fell 4%.
It marks Nasdaq’s biggest daily percentage drop since March 2020 at the start of COVID, and the largest drop for the Dow Jones since June 2020.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
5:07
The latest numbers on tariffs
‘Trust in President Trump’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN earlier in the day that Mr Trump was “doubling down on his proven economic formula from his first term”.
“To anyone on Wall Street this morning, I would say trust in President Trump,” she told the broadcaster, adding: “This is indeed a national emergency… and it’s about time we have a president who actually does something about it.”
Later, the US president told reporters as he left the White House that “I think it’s going very well,” adding: “The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”
He later said on Air Force One that the UK is “happy” with its tariff – the lowest possible levy of 10% – and added he would be open to negotiations if other countries “offer something phenomenal”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:27
How is the world reacting to Trump’s tariffs?
Economist warns of ‘spiral of doom’
The turbulence in the markets from Mr Trump’s tariffs “just left everybody in shock”, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston, told Reuters.
He added that the economy could go into recession as a result, saying that “a lot of the pain, will probably most acutely be felt in the US and that certainly would weigh on broader global growth as well”.
Meanwhile, chief investment officer at St James’s Place Justin Onuekwusi said that international retaliation is likely, even as “it’s clear countries will think about how to retaliate in a politically astute way”.
He warned: “Significant retaliation could lead to a tariff ‘spiral of doom’ that could be the growth shock that drags us into recession.”
It comes as the UK government published a long list of US products that could be subject to reciprocal tariffs – including golf clubs and golf balls.
Running to more than 400 pages, the list is part of a four-week-long consultation with British businesses and suggests whiskey, jeans, livestock, and chemical components.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that the US president had launched a “new era” for global trade and that the UK will respond with “cool and calm heads”.
It also comes as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a 25% tariff on all American-imported vehicles that are not compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.
He added: “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over. This is a tragedy.”
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Image: Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
6:39
Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:43
Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”