Hebron, 23 October. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army and security services to close Hebron immediately and prepare a full lockdown of the West Bank, and then threatened a military operation there "such as has not been carried out" since the 1967 war, after an attack near Hebron in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, Anadolu reports.
On the morning of 23 October two Palestinians armed with a handgun and an automatic rifle opened fire on Israeli troops at the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint near Hebron. According to the army, two soldiers were killed and three wounded; the attackers were shot dead, CGTN writes, citing AFP. Hamas, without claiming responsibility, praised the attack as a "heroic operation". "I instructed the Israeli army and security agencies to impose an immediate closure on Hebron and prepare for a comprehensive lockdown across Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said in a statement; Judea and Samaria is the name used in Israel for the West Bank.
According to eyewitnesses quoted by Anadolu, Israeli troops closed the entrances to Hebron with iron gates and blocked roads between towns and villages with earth mounds and checkpoints; searches are under way in the area, and surveillance camera footage is being seized from shops. Overnight, according to the agency, the army forced Palestinian families out, allowing them to take only small bags. Visiting Hebron, Netanyahu said that he and Defence Minister Israel Katz were considering "a very extensive IDF operation in Judea and Samaria, such as has not been carried out" since 1967. "The IDF is ready to execute it and we will set the timing, but it is on the way," he added. He said troops would first enter the neighbourhood from which the attackers came, evacuate its residents and destroy "terrorist infrastructure".
All this is happening four days before the 27 October parliamentary election. According to a Maariv poll cited by Anadolu, Netanyahu's bloc would win 48 of 120 seats, three fewer than a week earlier, the opposition bloc 54 and Arab parties 14. Neither side reaches the 61 seats needed to form a government. As preferred prime minister, Gadi Eisenkot leads Netanyahu by 49% to 41%. On 23 October Netanyahu cancelled all Likud campaign events.
What it means: Netanyahu has turned an attack on soldiers near Hebron into a bid for the largest West Bank operation in almost 60 years, and has done so in the final days of a campaign in which his bloc is trailing in the polls. For the Palestinians of Hebron it already means closure, searches and evictions.
Who benefits: The right wing of the government: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had demanded a new military campaign in the West Bank "exactly like in Gaza" even before Netanyahu's statement. Netanyahu gets the chance to campaign on security. The losers are the residents of Hebron and nearby villages, who bear the closures and evictions.
Background: Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war. According to Anadolu, Israeli military operations and settler attacks in the West Bank have intensified since the war in Gaza began in October 2023; in January 2025 a large operation in refugee camps in the north of the territory forced thousands from their homes, according to the UN.
List of sources used: Anadolu, CGTN
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
