Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a “total blockade” of the occupied West Bank on Friday after the Israeli military said two Palestinians were accused of carrying out a shooting attack near the city of Hebron that wounded five people and killed two Palestinians.
The fatal incident occurred just days before a crucial election that will determine whether Netanyahu can stay in power.
There has been a recent surge in violence and military activity by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, centered around the start of the olive harvest season, with Palestinians, activists and American journalists all attacked and detained.
Netanyahu’s office said it had instructed the Israel Defense Forces to “blockade” Hebron and prepare for a “total blockade” of the entire West Bank starting on Friday.
Netanyahu, who made comments after an emergency meeting with his security cabinet and senior military and security officials, blamed Hamas for the shooting and said the militant group “planned a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians.”
He mentioned that “a large amount of weapons and ammunition were found” but gave no further details about the attack.
“Our brave soldiers foiled this attack with courage and determination,” he said in a statement shared by the Israeli government press office. “I commend their actions and wish our injured a speedy recovery,” he added, without revealing whether the injured were soldiers or civilians.
The Israeli military orders a blockade of the West Bank hours after it says two people were killed At least five people were reportedly injured in the shooting. It is said that the gunmen were equipped with M16 rifles and pistols and that a “large number” of soldiers would be operating in the area after the incident.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s main emergency service, said it received reports of an attack near the Yehuda hub near Hebron at around 7.15am local time (12.15am ET), resulting in multiple casualties. Emergency crews are said to have treated at least five people, two of whom are in critical condition.
As of late Friday morning, the identities of the two men accused of carrying out the attack and killed by Israeli forces were unclear.
The blockade comes ahead of next week’s Israeli election, which is largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership over the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.
Much of Netanyahu’s campaign has focused on ahead of next Tuesday’s vote on Israel’s security. His government repeatedly warned before the election of possible attacks by the country’s “enemies” but provided no evidence.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday called for the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority, which has long overseen parts of the West Bank, in response to an alleged attack near Hebron.
“We cannot be in a state of terror in Judea and Samaria,” he said in a post on X, using the name some Israelis use for the region. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had a similar sentiment, saying the West Bank “cannot avoid a full-scale military campaign” to “dismantle the Palestinian Authority, seize weapons and eliminate terrorists – as in Gaza and Lebanon”.
The West Bank has been an increasingly hot-button issue for months, with the region seeing another wave of settler violence and military activity over the past week as the Palestinian olive harvest season gets underway.
U.S. citizens were among those attacked while accompanying Palestinian farmers harvesting crops. Earlier this week, New York congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained in the area along with a number of activists and American rabbis.
Settler violence has persisted during the olive harvest season, but it has increased dramatically in the years since the Oct. 7 attack, and Palestinians have also seen their olives stolen.
According to the United Nations, at least 160 Israeli settler attacks related to the olive harvest season were recorded in the first two weeks of October alone. The United Nations said many of the attacks were carried out “with the protection of or with the participation of Israeli forces.”
Despite international condemnation, Netanyahu’s government supports the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Increasing incidents of settler violence are increasingly being described as terrorism by some global officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.