A deadly shootout outside Hebron prompted citywide cordons and military sweeps days before Israel’s national election.
Two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen died Friday morning during an exchange of fire near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the military said, prompting immediate security closures and pledges of military sweeps days before Israel’s parliamentary election. The army identified the fallen soldiers as 23-year-old Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and 20-year-old Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, adding that three other soldiers were lightly wounded.
The fatal confrontation developed shortly after an initial incident outside the city where Netanyahu ordered a West Bank lockdown to contain potential violence across the territory.
What happened at the checkpoint
According to PBS NewsHour, the clash began in the morning when two Palestinian men from Hebron arrived at an Israeli military post near the Yehuda Junction armed with an M16 rifle and a handgun. Israeli troops engaged the men in an exchange of fire that lasted about 20 minutes before both gunmen were killed. The military said its forces stopped the attackers from advancing further toward civilians.
Security personnel later discovered a large cache of ammunition inside the vehicle used by the attackers. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, said the ammunition had been prepared for a larger assault. As BBC News reported, the army believes the gunmen initially planned to carry out an attack along nearby Route 35, but opened fire after running into the checkpoint.
Sweeps and threats of demolition
Following the shooting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to the scene and announced that Israel would mount a sweeping operation in the Hebron neighborhood where the gunmen lived. “We will evacuate the residents, we will go house by house, we will also remove the weapons there, and all the terror infrastructure will be dealt with and destroyed,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said the military would completely transform the neighborhood, comparing the plan to previous operations in West Bank refugee camps that demolished residential buildings and displaced thousands. Destroying the homes of suspected attackers is a regular practice by Israeli forces, though human rights groups in Israel criticize it as collective punishment. Netanyahu added that he reviewed blueprints for what could be the largest West Bank military campaign in decades, though he did not specify when it would begin.
Security forces cordoned off Hebron, a city of roughly 200,000 residents, along with the adjacent town of Halhul. In related operations across the West Bank, troops arrested dozens of people, including suspects tied to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, while confiscating submachine guns and M16 rifles.
Political fallout before the election
The violence erupted just days before Tuesday’s election, when Israeli voters decide whether to give Netanyahu another term in office three years after the Hamas-led attacks that began the war in Gaza. Netanyahu cancelled Likud campaign events scheduled for Friday morning and called an emergency meeting of the Security Cabinet, blaming Hamas for the attack. “Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination,” Netanyahu said.
The attack provoked immediate reactions across the political spectrum. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir argued the clash showed Israel must restrict Palestinian travel throughout the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the government to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and launch a campaign across the West Bank comparable to operations in Gaza and Lebanon, though authorities showed no evidence linking the governing body to the shooting.
Opposition leaders responded by praising the soldiers. Opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett offered condolences to the families of the dead troops and commended the forces who killed the attackers. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Israel Katz had criticized opposition figures for questioning government warnings about pre-election violence, saying critics would bear responsibility for future attacks.
Movement restrictions and rising casualties
Friday’s restrictions marked the fourth time in the past month that Israel has restricted movement across the West Bank, shutting checkpoints and gates that connect Palestinian villages to main thoroughfares. Israeli drivers and settlers could still travel through the area, though facing potential delays. Visiting U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander, who was detained by Israeli forces earlier in the week, criticized the closures as an effort to make life impossible for Palestinians. Yishai Fleisher, a spokesperson for Hebron’s Jewish community and a far-right candidate, maintained that Israel was defending itself from a hostile population and local incitement.
Before Friday’s attack, United Nations figures showed that Israeli forces and settlers had killed at least 96 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the year. Palestinians had killed four Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, over that same span.
