Netanyahu says security forces foiled a “major attack” and orders Hebron closed ahead of Israel’s elections.
Two Palestinians were killed and at least five Israeli soldiers injured in a gunfight near Hebron.
A Palestinian commission reports 17 attacks on farmers during the olive harvest as Israeli forces arrest 36 Palestinians in West Bank raids.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered security forces to prepare for a full lockdown of the occupied West Bank after a shooting near Hebron left two Palestinian men dead and at least five Israeli soldiers injured. Israeli sources said the incident took place near a military post staffed by a reserve battalion.
The announcement on Friday came amid rising tensions ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli elections, as Israeli forces and settlers continue attacks on Palestinian communities and farmers during the olive harvest. According to Al Jazeera, Israeli forces arrested 36 Palestinians during raids across the West Bank on Thursday, while the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission documented 17 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers and their land that day.
Netanyahu said security forces had prevented a “major attack”. He ordered the immediate closure of Hebron and directed security forces to prepare for a wider lockdown across the occupied territory.
“I have ordered the security forces to immediately close Hebron and to prepare for a full lockdown across all of Judea and Samaria [the Israeli term for the West Bank] starting today,” Netanyahu said in a social media post.
Israeli sources said two Palestinians travelling in a car with an Israeli licence plate had opened fire at soldiers near one of the military checkpoints surrounding Hebron.
Israel’s ambulance service reported that at least five Israeli soldiers were injured, two of them critically. Witnesses in the area said the shooting lasted around 20 minutes, complicating the evacuation of the injured.
Images shared by the AFP news agency appeared to show a man holding a handgun during the confrontation and later lying on the ground surrounded by Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli military was subsequently reported to have arrested two Palestinians and imposed a lockdown on Hebron. Netanyahu also cancelled a series of election-related engagements.
Ben-Gvir Calls for Israeli Control of West Bank
Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for Israel to take full control of the occupied West Bank following the gunfight. The Israeli government has encouraged the construction of numerous settlements in the territory, which are illegal under international law.
“We have to act before it’s too late. The Palestinian Authority must be dismantled and demilitarised, and its terror infrastructure wiped out completely,” Ben-Gvir said in a statement.
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) praised the attack on the military post. The groups described it as a response to Israeli military operations, settler violence and the war in Gaza, and called for intensified confrontation with Israeli soldiers and settlers.
Reporting from Ramallah, Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim described the rising tensions in the occupied territory, where Israeli settlers and security forces have continued to put pressure on Palestinian communities.
“This is coming at a time of great tension, not just before the Israeli elections, but there has been a ramp-up in attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank,” she said.
Israeli Forces Arrest 36 Palestinians During Raids
Israeli forces arrested 36 Palestinians during raids across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera. The operations took place as attacks on Palestinian farmers and their land intensified during the olive harvest.
In the Jenin governorate, Israeli forces raided towns and villages, arresting 10 Palestinians, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing data from the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.
Soldiers also raided the town of Tuqu in the Hebron governorate, arresting former prisoner Shorok al-Badan along with five other people from different parts of Hebron, Wafa reported.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said Israeli forces arrested 14 people in Khirbet Jawaya, a village in Masafer Yatta in the Hebron governorate. Wafa, citing a security source, reported that three other Palestinians were arrested elsewhere in the governorate.
In the Nablus and Jerusalem governorates, three more Palestinians were arrested during raids in the village of Burin, the town of Awarta and the Qalandiya refugee camp.
Commission Documents 17 Attacks During Olive Harvest
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it documented 17 attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers and their land on Thursday.
The incidents were recorded across the West Bank governorates of Hebron, Qalqilya, Nablus, Ramallah and el-Bireh, Jenin and Salfit.
According to the commission, the attacks included assaults on farmers, preventing them from reaching their land, stealing crops and agricultural equipment, and damaging or burning olive trees. It also reported arrests, threats at gunpoint and the use of live fire.
The commission said the pattern of attacks represented an escalation targeting the olive harvest and undermined Palestinians’ ability to access and cultivate their land and maintain their livelihoods.
Israeli attacks on Palestinian farmers have drawn international attention and condemnation. On Wednesday, Brad Lander, a US Democratic congressional candidate, was briefly detained by the Israeli military while volunteering to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank.
The reported attacks, arrests and planned lockdown come as tensions rise across the territory ahead of Tuesday’s Israeli elections.
