Israel launches West Bank operation after attack days before election

Israel launched a military operation in the occupied West Bank after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint. The operation matters because it combines security raids with measures that affect Palestinian communities, including searches, questioning, building demolitions, and a wider lockdown.

Israeli forces said the attackers came from the Hebron area. They searched targets and questioned suspects to locate and dismantle what the military called terrorist infrastructure. The operation covered dozens of locations and was expected to last several days. A photographer saw two Palestinian men, carrying a handgun and an automatic rifle, exchange fire with soldiers before being killed.

Netanyahu ordered the West Bank lockdown and discussed a much broader operation. He proposed entering the attackers’ neighborhood, evacuating residents, going house to house, and destroying infrastructure. Hamas praised the attack without claiming responsibility. Rights groups and the UN warned about collective punishment, closures, violence, and possible displacement.

The occupied West Bank is a landlocked Palestinian territory located west of the Jordan River and east of Israel. It is called “occupied” because Israel has exercised military control there since the 1967 war, although the Palestinian Authority has limited self-rule in some areas. The article focuses especially on Hebron and other communities affected by Israeli security operations.

The territory contains Palestinian towns and villages, Israeli military positions, and Israeli settlements. The article says settlements have expanded under Netanyahu’s government and are illegal under international law. It also describes checkpoints, closures, raids, demolitions, and attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian olive harvesters.

The West Bank matters because it is both a place of Palestinian daily life and a central arena in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After the latest attack, Israel imposed a lockdown and began a multi-day operation. The article reports that violence there has intensified since the Gaza war began, with deaths on both sides.

The immediate operation was large enough to cover dozens of locations and last several days. Israeli forces searched targets, questioned suspects, demolished structures described as security threats, and imposed a West Bank lockdown. Netanyahu also discussed an operation in Judea and Samaria on a scale not seen since the 1967 war, suggesting the announced action could expand beyond the initial raids.

The operation centered on the Hebron area, where Israel said the attackers had emerged. Netanyahu proposed entering their neighborhood, evacuating residents, searching houses, and destroying what he called terrorist infrastructure. The military said it was using a model previously applied in northern West Bank refugee camps.

The article gives a broader toll since the Gaza war began in October 2023. An AFP tally based on Palestinian Health Ministry data counted 1,117 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers. Israeli figures recorded at least 51 Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.

When Israel imposes a West Bank lockdown, Palestinians can face restricted movement and difficulty reaching work, farms, schools, medical care, and markets. The article specifically says closures affect Palestinian livelihoods. It does not provide a detailed list of every restriction, so these practical effects are general consequences of movement closures.

Evacuating a neighborhood can force residents to leave their homes temporarily or indefinitely. Demolishing buildings can destroy homes or other structures and make return difficult. Netanyahu proposed evacuating residents, searching every house, and destroying infrastructure in the attackers’ neighborhood. The article does not state how many residents were affected by this operation.

These measures can deepen displacement and anger while Israel argues they prevent further attacks. B’Tselem warned of collective punishment and possible war crimes. The UN secretary-general expressed concern about closures and called for violence to stop on all sides. The operation’s longer-term effects therefore depend on its duration and scope.

The timing mattered because Israel’s election was scheduled for Tuesday, only days after the soldiers were killed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in a tight race to keep his job and had campaigned on keeping Israelis safe. A fresh attack allowed security, military strength, and responses to West Bank militancy to dominate the political debate.

Netanyahu and right-wing allies visited the attack scene and promised a harder line. He credited the soldiers with preventing a larger attack, ordered a West Bank lockdown, and discussed an extensive operation. Far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir demanded even more forceful policies, including an offensive modeled on Gaza and dismantling the Palestinian Authority.

The operation therefore had both security and political significance. Netanyahu’s rival, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, said he was praying for wounded soldiers. The article does not say how voters responded or whether the operation changed the election result, but it clearly intensified the campaign’s focus on security.

The actors have different roles. Hamas is a militant group that praised the soldiers’ killing and urged supporters to carry out more attacks, but it did not claim responsibility. The Palestinian Authority is the Ramallah-based body exercising limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank. The article says there was no evidence connecting it to the shooting.

The Israeli military and Shin Bet conducted searches, questioned suspects, demolished structures, imposed closures, and killed the two attackers. Israeli settlers are civilians living in settlements, which the article says have expanded under Netanyahu’s government. It also reports attacks by extremist settlers against Palestinian olive harvesters.

These roles overlap in a wider conflict involving armed attacks, military control, settlement expansion, and Palestinian administration. Israeli ministers blamed or threatened the Palestinian Authority despite the lack of evidence tying it to the attack. Hamas’s praise could encourage further violence, while military raids and settler attacks increase pressure and insecurity for Palestinian communities.

The article links Israel’s control of the West Bank to the 1967 war. Netanyahu described the proposed operation as the broadest since that conflict, and the article calls the territory occupied. In general historical terms, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and has controlled it militarily since then. The Palestinian Authority later received limited self-rule in parts of the territory.

Israeli settlements are communities established by Israel in the West Bank. The article says they have proliferated under Netanyahu’s government and are illegal under international law. The article does not explain the legal basis. The widely accepted international-law position is that an occupying power cannot transfer its civilian population into occupied territory, though Israel disputes this interpretation.

This history helps explain the conflict’s political stakes. The West Bank contains Palestinian communities, settlements, military positions, and contested authority. Continuing settlement growth, attacks, raids, demolitions, and calls to dismantle the Palestinian Authority make future violence and displacement more likely, while the article gives no political resolution.