Israel said on Sunday it will close all land crossings with the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, October 27, the day of its general election, as the military widens a crackdown in the territory after Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers.1,4,7
The Israeli army said in a statement early Sunday that it would bar Palestinian workers from entering most areas of the West Bank from Sunday through Monday, and that a full closure of crossings into and out of the territory would be enforced on Tuesday. The army described “a ban on the entry and exit of Palestinian workers throughout Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, including industrial zones, as well as the closure of all land crossings throughout Election Day,” and said most workers would also be barred from settlements from Sunday, with exceptions for industrial zones and a limited number of other areas. Before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, more than 100,000 Palestinian workers were permitted to enter Israel, and only a small fraction have had their permits restored since.1,4,7
The measures follow Friday’s attack, in which two Palestinian gunmen opened fire, killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding three others. The two gunmen were also killed. The reports differ on the location: Al Jazeera described an attack on an Israeli army reserve base, while NPR, France 24 and the BBC described a checkpoint. The Israeli military told NPR that soldiers had been positioned behind concrete barriers when the gunmen opened fire, and that a firefight lasted about 20 minutes before the soldiers killed the attackers. France 24 reported that Hamas, while not claiming credit, hailed the killings.1,4,6,7
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “full lockdown” of the occupied West Bank after the attack and vowed to exact a heavy price, according to Al Jazeera and France 24. He said he was planning an operation on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967. In a televised speech from the location of the attack, close to Hebron, he said: “We will act to demolish this place, to change it completely.” The Israeli military has said the operation will last several days.1,4,6
In Hebron, the Israeli military has been demolishing homes and forcibly removing hundreds of Palestinians from a neighbourhood after the attack. Defence Minister Israel Katz said about 2,000 people had been displaced. In an interview with public broadcaster Kan, he said: “They will not be allowed to return to their neighbourhood until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in Hebron.” Residents said soldiers announced forced evacuation orders over loudspeakers late at night, leaving them no time to prepare and few places to go. Al Jazeera’s figure was higher: Hebron’s mayor, Yousef al-Ja’bari, had said on Saturday that 2,200 people had been forced from their homes.1,4,6,7
The mayor told Al Jazeera that the city of Hebron and several neighbouring villages were under a complete blockade. About 200,000 Palestinians live in the city of Hebron, and a further 600,000 live in Hebron governorate, making it the most populous area of the West Bank. Footage shared online showed at least one whole street that appeared to have been flattened, the BBC reported. Israel had already imposed widespread closures in Hebron on Saturday.1,6,7
The Israeli army said that over Friday and Saturday it operated in 40 areas across the territory. Israeli forces said they “apprehended approximately 40 suspects, including terrorists affiliated with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations.” Hundreds of raids have been carried out since Friday’s attack.1,4
The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank in cooperation with Israel, called for international pressure on Israel to protect Hebron’s residents. It called Israel’s actions “collective punishment,” citing the demolition of homes, the forced displacement of entire neighbourhoods and the “closure and siege of Palestinian cities.” Israeli rights groups have criticised the demolition of homes of this kind as collective punishment. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem called on foreign governments to act to prevent “another wave of ethnic cleansing and war crimes.”1,4,6,7
Netanyahu likened the planned operation to an Israeli military assault last year on two long-standing Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank, in which the army displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians. Human Rights Watch said those expulsions amounted to war crimes, a charge that Israel rejects. The United Nations Human Rights Office for the occupied Palestinian territory has described the surge of violence and land seizures by Israeli settlers against Palestinians as a “new level of dehumanization of Palestinians.”6
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving prime minister, is facing a tight race for a new term in Tuesday’s vote. According to polls cited by NPR, he and his main opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, are neck and neck, and neither currently has enough support to form a government. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera say he is trying to capitalise on ongoing regional military conflicts and national security fears. Hebron’s mayor said the operation was being “driven by the elections,” and that Netanyahu and his ministers were attempting to secure the votes of the far right and the settlers.1,6,7
Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, told NPR: “For Netanyahu, his ticket before the election is, ‘I’m Mr. Security.’” He described the response of evicting families from the neighbourhood the attackers came from, without evidence of a connection to the gunmen, as “collective punishment.” He added: “The way to prevent more attacks by Palestinians is not collective punishment. It’s by giving hope.”6
On Saturday, thousands gathered in Tel Aviv for an anti-government demonstration organised by the October Council, a group founded by families of victims and hostages taken by militants on October 7, 2023. The leaders of the four main opposition parties attended, including Eisenkot, the former military chief of staff. In an interview with Israel’s i24 television channel, Netanyahu threatened a “very big surprise” for the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military has said the Hebron operation will last several days, and it is not known from the reports how long the restrictions will remain in place after Tuesday’s vote.1,7
